In 1693, the settlement of Capiz was accepted as a visita of Pan-ay, seven kilometers east. In 1707, the visita became an independent parish under the advocacy of the Inmaculada Concepción. Nine years later, the settlement known as El Puerto de Capiz became an independent parish. Between 1728 and 1732, the parish was relieved of the obligation of sending funds to the San Agustin convent in Manila. Fr. Pedro Galende opines that the parish may have been too poor or was in the process of building parochial edifices, hence, the exemption. At this time too, Loctugan and Ivisan were annexed as visitas.

On 4 January 1698, a typhoon damaged the church of Capiz. It was probably made of light material. In 1728, Fr. Domingo Horbegozo, parish priest, began building a more permanent church; construction seems to have continued until 1732. An earthquake in 1787 may have destroyed the church because in 1870, Fr. Apolinar Alvarez began building a new church. An 1877 date on the façade of the present church may indicate when the construction ceased. Fr. Lesmes Perez (1885-90) installed a ceiling of galvanized iron and plastered the walls with stucco. In 1885, a pipe organ was installed in the church. The church was greatly damaged during World War II and reconstructed in 1954.

Heritage Features: The church façade represents a more controlled use of Baroque, though elements like the rounded pediment, floral volutes decorate the upper the story. All told, the façade is more Classical in temper characterized by a balance of arches and portal. The semicircular entrance is balanced by niches containing images of Sta. Monica and San Agustin. The upper story's three fenestration's are rectangular, flanked by low relief volutes terminating in flowers. The four story bell tower begins as cube, and in gradated sizes, as octagonal prisms. The tower is capped by a vault terminating in a wind vane.