The monastery was built in several stages on a site transferred to the
Franciscan Order from the
Georgian Orthodox Church in 1558–59 by Sultan
Suleiman the Magnificent. Because the old church building was no longer considered sufficient for the needs of the parish, in 1850 Sultan
Abdülmecid I granted the order permission to demolish the old church and build a new one in its place, under the condition that the new church be no larger than the old one. Official support for the construction of the church was provided by Austro-Hungarian Emperor
Franz Joseph I during his visit to Jerusalem in 1869. Originally, Franz Joseph I made his contribution on the condition that the church would be built according to the plans of his own architect. Although the leaders of the Franciscan order rejected this condition, he agreed to contribute about 60,000
francs for the project. The construction took three years and was completed on 29 November 1885. The church architect, Father
Raffaelle Cingolani from
Montecassiano, was inspired by the work of Italian architect
Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola. The church was built in the typical style of a
basilica. Unlike most church buildings built on an east–west axis with the
apse and the altar in the east, Saint Saviour is built along a north–south axis. A
clock tower is located on the side of the church. In 1932, two stories were added to the clock tower in honour of the 700th anniversary of the death of Saint
Anthony of Padua. In 1985, the church and monastery were renovated in honour of the 100th anniversary of its construction. Over the years, a
Catholic school for boys and girls, a
printing press and an
organ workshop were built on the monastery compound, and are still in operation today. ==See also==