It is part of the Historic Center, the same one that was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999, making it one of the most emblematic places in Cuenca as it is the only church that has a bellows organ, which is It is located inside at the back of the building.

Planning for the church started in 1557 and construction began ten years later, using stones for the foundation and walls from the ruins of Tomebamba.

After a restoration that started in 1999 the Old Cathedral serves today as the "Museum for Religious Art" and a venue for concerts and cultural events.

In times of rain, the street caused flooding of nearby land, so in the year of 1566, it was subjected to a change of course to avoid further inconvenience.

[2] Thanks to the efforts of Diego de Solís to obtain the requirements for the construction of the Main Church in the Real Audiencia of Quito, walls were erected around the hermitage, which were made of adobe.

Francisco de San Miguel was responsible for said design and supervision, together with Diego Alonso Márquez he was assigned the construction of a brick enclosure, to prevent damage from flooding.

Melchor Rojas was the one to raise the walls seven feet, then the mason Pedro Inga proceeded with the other modifications of the main chapel applying lime mixtures to its foundations.

Only the well-off sectors of Cuencan society had access to these graves, their range of importance could be observed according to the place of sepulcher, the most popular area being the ayacorral, whose meaning was fenced off from the dead.

Unfortunately, the bishop-elect of that decade, José Carrión, did not allow these repairs to be carried out, so in his opinion, it was a waste of the money granted by the Government.

By that time, the city of Cuenca had prospered economically in a significant way as a result of artisanal, agricultural and livestock activities, so together the income of the church also increased, allowing it to be taken into account both religiously and politically by the Real Audiencia of Quito to the rise of a governorate and a bishopric.

With the growing prestige of the city also came the responsibilities of renovating the neglected city and especially the church, which was not aesthetically in good condition either, which is why Governor José Antonio de Vallejo appointed Josef Herze as observer, who was also accountant of the Real Caja de Cuenca (Cuenca royal savings banks), these two being the characters branded as profiting for themselves with the assets of the church and the search for their own honor.