The church was built in the 1870s by Frederic Growse, a British civil servant, and convert to Catholicism, on the site of a shed which had previously been used as a Catholic chapel.

The Persian carpet covering the steps of the altar was given by Agra's superintendent of the central prison John W. Tyler, and the Stations of the Cross came from the 10th Royal Hussars.

The first stone was laid on 18 January 1874, on the site of a shed which had been used as a Catholic chapel dedicated to St Francis Apostle of the Poor.

[2] Frederic Growse, a British civil service officer posted to Mathura in the 1870s who had converted to Catholicism,[3] was an enthusiast for Indian arts and crafts, and set out to plan a Catholic church in that style.

[2][8] Growse regarded the church as unfinished, due to his forced removal from his post at Mathura to serve in another district.