The building was designed by the architect Henri Désiré Louis Van Overstraeten and built between 1845 and 1888 in an eclectic style combining neo-Romanesque and neo-Gothic elements with influences from Byzantine and Roman architecture.

A long period of interior fittings then began, which continued well beyond the solemn consecration of the church, which took place on 14 October 1902, feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, by the archbishop of Mechelen Cardinal Goossens.

[1] As early as 1870, the building required expensive repairs to remedy rainwater infiltration generated by repeated work interruptions.

Despite punctual restoration work over the next seventy years, the deterioration continued after World War II.

A fire that occurred on 8 September 1985, however, destroyed the already restored dome and roofs and abruptly interrupted the works.