The convent was constructed for an order of Poor Clare nuns and the institution began with six members.

The facade, pilasters, arches, vaults and cupola of sandstone with stairs made of granite.

The former church building was sold to Manuel Echeverría, who established a canteen called La Constancia in it in the early years of the century.

[1][3] To adapt the building to this purpose, the bell tower was demolished and a door was opened on the Bolivar Street side.

[1] However, beginning from the Mexican Revolution, nationalism was on the rise and Echeverría was a Spaniard, attracting protests against foreign ownership of the building.

The continued pressure finally forced Echeverría to sell the business to Julio R. Lara Sosa in 1953, as there were moves to nationalize the property.

In 1962, it was acquired by the government and rehabilitated along with the part of the ex-convent it already owned to found the Biblioteca del Congreso de la Unión (Library of the Congress of the Union).