Although the current church was built in 1852, and originally dedicated to the Irish Saint Columba,[6] the parish was founded in 1644, with a chapel constructed on the same site by the Jesuits.

In 1644, they built a chapel, dedicated to Saint Michael, for the French and First Nations peoples on a promontory in Sillery known as pointe à Puiseaux.

That year, a local timber merchant, Patrick McInenly, had his house converted into a place of worship, St. Richard's Chapel.

[8] Construction on the church began in 1852, utilizing the plans of the Irish-born architect Goodlatte Richardson Browne.

Peachy supervised the work and Jean Vézina crafted the wooden decor and Maurice Larose did the masonry.

The gold and white wooden altar was moved to the sacristy and a brown granite one from Chicoutimi was installed in its place.

It was founded on 7 August 1944 when Cardinal Villeneuve authorised the creation of a new parish, under the patronage of Saint Charles Garnier for the people in the northern part of the Sillery area.