Built between 1760 and 1776, it is one of the least-altered examples of a Spanish Colonial Pueblo mission church, with adobe walls rising 34 feet (10 m) in height.

An unusual and distinctive feature of this church is a clerestory window above the nave that is oriented to allow sunlight to fall into the apse area.

The main entrance is at the southern end of the nave, between a pair of buttresses, which also support a wooden balcony at the gallery level.

Originally sheltered by an adobe wall that encircled the plaza, the community grew to 63 families in 1776, when the church was completed.

[3] The roof has been replaced several times, including in 1932 by the Society for the Preservation of New Mexico Mission Churches, led by renowned architect John Gaw Meem.