The foundation stone was laid in 1571 according to the plan and guidance of Girolamo Cassar, architect of the Knights of St John.

St Augustine Hall, adjacent to the church, is part of the original plan of Cassar.

One of these is an important sixteenth-century painting of the Augustinian Nicholas of Tolentino depicted by the artist Mattia Preti.

It is from the school of Preti and some of its figures can be found depicted on the ceiling of St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta.

The church building is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.