[citation needed] The main body of the church (with various later additions) is one of very few buildings in central Melbourne which were built before the Victorian gold rush of 1851.

On 28 April 1839 a committee of the Catholics at Port Philip, who customarily met for prayer in the house of Peter Bodecin, wrote to Bede Polding, vicar-apostolic of New Holland, Van Diemen's Land, and the adjoining islands, requesting a priest.

The ornate Ladye Chapel on the west side was designed by George and Schneider and constructed in 1856-58, with decoration by Le Gould and Souter.

[4] Centrally located in the Melbourne's CBD, St Francis' has never lost its place as one of the city's most popular and widely used churches.

[citation needed] Although there have been many changes made to the building, including the erection of a new tower, a gift from the Grollo family, to house the original 1853 bell imported from Dublin, the church remains essentially as it was designed by Samuel Jackson.