It dates back to a primitive thatched hermitage, built on land belonging to Jorge Withon, a coeval member of the island's settlement. It was one of the temples looted and burned down in Horta, in August 1597, by Sir Walter Raleigh, of the fleet under the command of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex.
Construction of the Carmo da Horta Convent began in the 17th century, more precisely in 1652 and under the influence of D. Helena de Boim, wife of the then Captain-Major Francisco Gil da Silveira.
Built in the 17th century, the Convent of Carmo is a former monastery in the municipality of Horta. Its community of nuns declined after several earthquakes affected the building, and it was eventually taken over by the Portuguese army to be used as a garrison.
The construction of this church can be said to be contemporary with the Carmo da Horta Convent, built from 1651, which belonged to the Third Order of Carmo and began after the works on the convent itself and was only completed in the 18th century.
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