This large Roman Catholic church grew out of an old secret chapel that was hidden inside a townhouse on the outskirts of the Amsterdam ghetto, which was established so that its indigenous clans could worship secretly during the Prohibition of Catholicism. As their numbers grew, the church expanded into other buildings. It is said that the famous Dutch Jewish philosopher Spinoza grew up in one of these houses. When the ban on Catholicism was lifted in the mid-19th century, the underground church was demolished and replaced with a contemporary public place of worship.