This church, now demolished, soon became too small and was replaced by St Wilfrid's which was begun in April 1792 and finished 14 months later and cost £4,000.

The driving force behind the building of the church was Father Joseph 'Daddy' Dunn, a Jesuit who continued ministering as a Catholic priest during the suppression of the Society of Jesus.

[6] The first stage of building the church was to have plain brick edifice with a balcony around the three sides facing the altar inside.

[5] The church is still administered by the Society of Jesus whose community is next door on Winckley Square, and who ran the nearby Preston Catholic College until its closure in 1978.

The adjacent parish centre hosts various activity groups, such as the local Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and Christian Life Community.