Originally a mosque used by Christian converts at the beginning of the 13th century, it was the first place consecrated as a church by the Catholic Monarchs following the conquest of Granada. The original building was torn down in 1520 to erect the church.

Its Gothic style is evident in the main doorway and the pointed arches of the naves. It bears the hallmarks of the initial phase of Granada''s Mudéjar style. It is the only parish church in the Albaicín district that boasts three naves. Half of the wall that faces on to San Juan de los Reyes was reconstructed at the end of the 19th century to accommodate a second doorway. A minaret of the old mosque has been conserved, attached to the east end of the church, which was converted into a belfry. Its exterior decoration formed by bricks with mixtilinear arches and sebka panels evidence the Almohad style, similar to the Giralda of Seville.