In September 1876, the Qing Empire and the Great Britain signed the Chefoo Convention, which stipulated the opening of additional treaty ports in Wenzhou.

In December 1876, Roman Catholic Diocese of Ningbo Bishop Edmond-François Guierry came to Wenzhou to preach and bought a house in Zhouzhai Lane (周宅巷) as a church under the approval of local magistrate.

In 1904, Bishop Cyprien Aroud refurbished and redecorated the church, making it the tallest building in Wenzhou.

During the ten-year Cultural Revolution, all volumes of scriptures, historical documents, and other works of art were either removed, damaged or destroyed in the massive socialist movement, and the Red Guards forced priests to return to secular life.

The church was returned to the Wenzhou Catholic Patriotic Association in 1982 and was officially reopened to the public on the Christmas in 1983.