The church used to be part of a monastic complex of the Order of the Reformati and was built between 1680 and 1686, according to Jan Michał Link’s design. After the monastery was dissolved as a result of implementation of the so-called Josephine reforms, it was pulled down and the church was converted into a military storehouse. Stripped off its ornaments the building was converted into a theatre after 1918. In 1922 it was given back to the Church and after a major refurbishment it became the Church of St. Catherine. For the first three months of WW II a famous painting by Matejko entitled “The Prussian Homage” was hidden in church vaults never to be found by the Nazis. The church has undergone a major repair recently; as a result it has regained its former appearance.
Inside the church there is a Baroque painting of the patron saint of the temple from the first half of the 18th century, which was brought here from a wooden church of St. Catherine once located in Przedmieście Lubelskie Street.
