[1] In the first centuries after the Reformation, the public display of Roman Catholic services and accessories was not tolerated – officially forbidden in 1660 – in Amsterdam.

But it remained hidden under the gables of the two houses until the early 19th century, when the prohibitions against the Catholic Church were finally lifted.

Mozes en Aäronkerk was raised to the rank of parish under its original name, St. Anthony of Padua, in 1857, four years after the Roman Catholic hierarchy was restored to the Netherlands.

In other words, it was not under the control of any particular church; it was under the control of the City Hall of Amsterdam, but Mozes en Aäronkerk, as Sint-Anthoniuskerk, was allowed to keep its register of burials for this cemetery, which was primarily used to bury the less fortunate, such as paupers and strangers, just outside the Sint-Anthonispoort ["St Anthony's Gate"], only 225 yards (206 meters) southeast of the church, at the present intersection of Weesperstraat and Nieuw Herengracht.

In 2014, after an interruption of 34 years, the church was reconsecrated, and the weekly Sunday mass was resumed, together with weekday prayer services.

The former activities, such as providing the setting for secular weddings, and cultural events were suspended, and the local socio-cultural organization, "Mozeshuis" ("Moses House"), opened in 1969, and previously suffering financial difficulties, was closed.

The present building was built as a "Water Management Church" (Dutch: Waterstaatskerk),[15] between 1837 and 1841 from a design by Tilman-François Suys (1783–1861) in the style of neoclassicism, with three aisles and a recessed rectangular choir.

The facade, with its twin towers, was said to be inspired by the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris and Santissima Trinità dei Monti in Rome.

Depending the liturgical calendar, the altarpiece would also feature either "Maria Aankondiging [Mary of the Annunciation]" or "Christus san het Kruis [Christ on the Cross]", also by Jacob de Wit.

On the walls are the reliefs of the fourteen Stations of the Cross, made by a Flemish sculptor, Petrus Elysens van den Bossche (1841–1921).

The bold letters in the chronogram spell out, in the Roman numerals, with the "U" and "Y" substituting for the "V", the mathematical equation for adding up the total sum of the year 1842: 5 + 6 + 151 + 6 + 1006 + 56 + 6 + 50 + 56 + 500 = 1842 On 26 April 1866, on his visit to Amsterdam, Franz Liszt was treated at the Mozes en Aäronkerk to its orchestra and chorus's performance, led by a Dutch conductor Herman van Bree, of one of his compositions, the "Graner Mass".