Originally constructed in 1845, the church was initially used as a seminary for the community, and later became part of the university in 1859.

[2] It contains the old altar from the current St. Patrick's Cathedral,[3] as well as stained glass windows given to the university by King Louis Philippe I of France.

[1] The windows are particularly notable for their connection to a workshop in Sevres, France, where the earliest stages of the Gothic Revival took place.

[1] The six windows in the nave of the University Church depict the Four Evangelists, St. Peter, and St.

[4] Adjacent to the church is the Fordham University Cemetery, where the university's original nineteenth-century Jesuits, diocesan seminarians, students, and workers are interred;[5] the original cemetery had been located on property that now belongs to the New York Botanical Garden, and the graves were relocated to their current location in 1890.