The donatário of Olinda, Jorge de Albuquerque Coelho, invited the Order of Saint Benedict from Portugal to come to Brazil in 1592 in exchange for land. The monastery was built in 1599 but was destroyed during the Dutch invasion in 1630. Its reconstruction began in 1688 and was completed in 1692. The complex, consisting of the monastery and the basilica, maintained its Baroque architecture and was declared a historical and cultural heritage site by IPHAN.