During the period 1749 to 1759, the Aragon Franciscan Capuchin missionaries founded the Arima mission. In 1789, the first church was built on the present site and the mission’s name was changed to Santa Rosa de Arima. The mission was dedicated to Santa Rosa de Lima on the 200th anniversary of her birth. In 1989, the parishioners of Santa Rosa celebrated the bi-centenary (1789 – 1989) of worship on this sacred spot of Arima.

The site of the present church was also part of the native First Peoples village. The church has been rebuilt and renovated several times over the last two hundred and thirty (230) years. It is also a Heritage site of the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago. The stained-glass windows at the back of the altar are a prominent feature of the church.

​

The main window in the centre is the “Jubilee window”. It was installed in 1949 by Canon Jeremiah Maher, on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of his ordination. Canon Maher served as Parish Priest of Santa Rosa from 1937 to 1960. The other windows of the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) were installed in 2009 by Msgr. Christian Pereira, who served as Parish Priest from 2002 to 2011.