It was rebuilt after a major fire in 1815 which gutted the church and 35 dwellings in the surrounding Five Points neighborhood.

Dressed Manhattan schist makes neat building blocks, with brownstone detail.

[4] The church was designated a New York City landmark in 1966, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Felix Varela y Morales purchased the former Episcopalian "Christ Church" on Ann Street to serve as a home for the fourth Catholic parish established on Manhattan.

It offers Sunday masses in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, and has a Catholic School open to all religions.

The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers who staff the parish belong to an order that has historical roots in overseas missions to China in particular and the entire world in general.

[12]In 1967 St. Joachim's Church on Roosevelt Street, which was founded in 1888 by the Scalabrini Fathers, was demolished to make way for a city housing development on Park Row.