This church was built in ‘earthquake baroque’ style (ie thick-walled and massive) after an earlier incarnation was damaged by quakes in 1619 and 1627. The construction of the original wooden, thatched church is believed to have been supervised by Juan de Salcedo, lieutenant governor of the Ilocos region, in 1574.

　　The brass communion handrails were made in China, and faint Chinese characters can be seen where the rails connect to the building. The octagonal design of the church is supposedly rooted in feng shui design principles.