On 23rd August 1884 Fortunato Gulia donated a plot of land for the building of a new Church in Kalkara. With request approval, Can. Rev. Joseph Azzopardi, together with a committee, was delegated to accomplish this project. Architect Guglielmo Attard designed the Church in the shape of a Latin cross. The first stone was blessed on 22nd June 1890.
Construction was completed by 1895, funded through collections and several benefactors. Kalkara became a Parish on 10th December 1897, the Church was blessed on 8th January 1898 with Fr. Joseph Ciangura installed as Parish Priest. It was consecrated on 30th January 1921 and the bell-tower was built in 1923. Two statues of Saint Joseph (Etienne Puccini, 1897 and Agostino Camilleri, 1921) were amongst its works of art. The Church was completely destroyed during the Second World War on 10th April 1942.
