The late Baroque church was built in the 18th century, designed by Karol Bay, but due to the lack of funding, construction of the church lasted for 33 years. It preserves its originality as it was not damaged during World War II. Its most important elements include its façade characteristic of the Baroque period,the rococo pulpit in the shape of a boat and an ebony tabernacle from 1654 that resembles
a small temple.
It was here that Fryderyk Chopin used to play the church organ (which is commemorated by a plaque).
For Warsaw citizens, it is an important place because of priest Jan Twardowski, who was rector of the church from 1960. He lived in the church of the sisters of the Visitation: here he wrote his first poems,
and in the church he preached his unforgettable sermons. At the entrance there is the epitaph of a priest in a form of the kneeler with one of his last poems engraved. Near the church a monastery of the contemplative nuns of the Visitation Order is located. It is precisely for the needs of the order that the church was built, and it is the oldest convent in Poland. Twelve French nuns arrived to Warsaw in the summer of 1654 at the request of Queen Ludwika Maria Gonzaga, wife of Jan Kazimierz. The monastery was built and furnished thanks to the efforts of the Queen, as it was in such close proximity to the royal residence (ie, Kazimierzowski Palace - which is currently near the modern University of Warsaw).
The formal closure of the monastery was held in the presence of the royal couple. The monastery developed and in the 18th century, the current church was built. For 350 years, nuns have lived quiet lives of prayer and solitude here, but remain actively involved in the life of the city.