The church is located in the place where, in 1539, the Dominican nuns from the monastery of Our Lady of Anunciada - in the Lisbon quarter of Mouraria - set themselves. Greatly destroyed by the 1755 earthquake, the monastery has never been renovated. The seat of the parish of São José  was transferred from the neighbour Church of São José dos Carpinteiros to this place in 1883. The nave of the church was never renovated, only remaining the transept. Special mention should be given to the marble altarpiece of the chancel, with SaloJesuit church of Colégio de Santo Antão and topped by a sculpture group depicting the Glory of the Holy Trinity. The sacristy hosts a 18th century terracotta crib by the school of Machado de Castro, from the ancient parish seat.