The Jesuits built the church from 1602 to 1640, and the article names no architect. Japanese Christian craftsmen who had been expelled from Japan in 1587 likely worked on the carvings. The article calls it one of the largest Catholic churches in Asia at the time, but gives no measurement.
A fire during a typhoon on January 26, 1835 left only the stone frontispiece. The facade is shaped like a retable and themed around the Assumption of Mary, with a seven-headed hydra under Mary's feet captioned in Chinese. Six carved stone guardian lions stand at the base, and 68 stone steps lead up to the facade.
Concrete and steel now buttress the frontispiece. Excavations from 1990 to 1995 uncovered the crypt and foundations, and a museum was made behind the facade. A steel stairway once let tourists climb the rear, which is no longer allowed. UNESCO listed it in 2005 as part of the Historic Centre of Macau.
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