The first reference to the Franciscans in the town takes place in a document from 1280. The church in its present form is eclectic and shows the results of the reconstruction of 1925. However, its basis is medieval and Baroques. The Turkish reconstructed the mediaeval church into a mosque. According to the descriptions of the Turkish traveller Evlia Cheleby a medresse, or high school, operated in the building next to the church, in the original Franciscan monastery. According to the accounts of the famous traveller a led-roofed building stood here that incorporated a harem, a minaret and a chapel. Following the Turkish occupation the church and the monastery were returned to the Franciscans and they started the reconstruction in 1720. They sold the led roof of the mosque so that they could cover the costs of the construction. The reconstruction of the church and the monastery was completed by 1737. The church was reconstructed again in the 1880s, the 1890s and in 1925, however, its original Baroques tower still stands. The building complex is one of the most beautiful examples of Baroques architecture in Pécs. The façade tympanon's paintings are the works of Ernő Gebauer. The Baroques furniture is partly preserved inside. The main altar painting depicts the "Taking of Saint Francis of Assisi" and was painted in 1737. The Saint Anne altar is from 1758, the Saint Anthony, Borbála and Cathreen altars and the pulpit are from 1768. The inlaid cupboards of the vestry rooms are the works of the friar Lukács Jani from 1745. A popular spectacle of the church is the nativity crib created of life-size wooden statues set up every year, which is unique in its size in the country. A crypt belongs to the church where more than 300 people were buried.
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