King Leopold I commissioned the church in memory of his wife, Queen Louise-Marie, and wanted it to serve as her mausoleum. A royal decree authorized construction on October 14, 1850, and the rules required space for 2,000 people at a cost of no more than 800,000 francs. Joseph Poelaert was chosen as architect, and left in 1865. Leopold I laid the first stone in 1854, and the church was consecrated in 1872. It is neo-Gothic. The selected design was a simple brick building with stone bands and one slate spire, and a more monumental plan with three spires followed.
Baron Heinrich von Schmidt completed the main facade, porches and central tower from 1909 to 1911. Restorations ran from 2003 to 2012.
The Royal Crypt holds the tombs of the Belgian kings and their wives. It is an active parish church.
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