This Female Monastery of the Order of Barefoot Carmelites was founded in 1681 by two ladies from Évora - Feliciana and Eugénia da Silva - and was later sponsored by the Archbishop of Évora D. Frei Luís da Silva Teles. After the death of the last sister, in 1886, the Monastery was closed.
This monastery, also known as Convento Novo as it was the last religious house of the city of Évora, was built according to the conventual rule - church with an upper choir, sacristy and two confessionals, two cloisters, around which the convent's facilities were located, such as the concierge, the refectory, the chapter room, and the fourth chapel (Mother Superior's quarters).
It has a rectangular churchyard, accessed by an exterior granite staircase, attached to the elevation. The main granite porticos exhibit baroque features. The convent's decoration includes the magnificent rococo carving of the altarpiece of the main altar and side altars (from the second half of the 18th century), and thirteen tile panels depicting the life of St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary.
After the dissolution of religious orders, the convent had several uses, being first occupied by the Tax-Guard services and later by Casa Pia. It also housed a Mendicity Asylum and, in February 2010, the Church was reopened for worship.
