By the 1780s, half of Philadelphia's Catholic population was German, and they asked permission of John Carroll, the Apostolic Prefect of the United States, to build their own church.

[1] Holy Trinity Church was founded in 1784 by German-speaking Catholics,[2] and in 1788, Carroll authorized it as a national parish for Germans.

[2] The interior of the church and the roof were destroyed in 1860 by a fire started by a firecracker lit during a Fourth of July celebration.

[4] In 2019, the cost to repair the building and install a new air conditioning and heating system was projected to be between $800,000 and $1 million, which Old St. Mary's Church deemed would pose a financial strain, in light of a small number of congregants at Holy Trinity Church.

[10] On December 11, 2022, Archbishop Perez, decreed that, effective January 23, 2023, Holy Trinity Church would be relegated to profane but not sordid use.