This church was built to replace a mostly medieval church which was destroyed at the end of the Second World War. It is usually  credited to H.W. Valk and his son G.H.F. Valk, but there is at least one source that adds another two architects; H.W. Valk Jr. and F.H. Stoks. The first obviously is another son of H.W. Valk whose role in the project is unclear, the other an architect from Venlo who often lend his name to projects by architects from outside the province, to make it easier for them to get commissioned. In this case because the diocese of Roermond was not eager to give Valk any more assignments, after several bad experiences.
In the same period a church by H.W. Valk and G.H.F. Valk was built in Apeldoorn, the St. Victor, which was very similar in layout to this one; a christocentric church with a protruding front flanked by two towers of different height and a transept that far exceeded the width of the nave. Unlike the church in Apeldoorn, the one in Arcen has a square crossing-tower and a choir with ambulatory. Other differences are the shapes of the window and the arrangement of the towers.
An earlier design from 1953 for the church in Arcen showed a different front, with two towers of equal height standing slighty more forward than the facade. This design was not accepted.