The current building was built over the previous Church of São Salvador, probably dating back to 1496.
The main altar remains of the original church, located under the chapel; This current building began construction in 1570 and has undergone several restorations due to various damages caused by adverse weather conditions or calamities, such as the 1980 earthquake or the 1984 fire.
The church, built by the religious of the Society of Jesus under the invocation of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, is part of the Palace of the Captains-General, and can be visited in the summer, within the palace's museum route.
The first written reference to the nuns of the convent of São Gonçalo is by Louis-Philippe de Ségur, count of Ségur (1753-1830), who, when he passed through Terceira in 1782 on his way to the United States.
This Empire of Espírito Santo was founded in the 19th century, more precisely in 1810.
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