Heiloo's history as a parish goes back to the early 8th century, when the missionary Willibrord founded a first church here and, at least that's what the legend says, opened a well. Partly because of its importance as a place of pilgrimage, Heiloo remained a largely catholic village even after the Reformation. Having lost their church to the protestans in 1630, the catholics first gathered in a house, until in 1681 a hidden church was built, a church disguised as a house. This building was replaced by a true church in 1868, a building in neo-Gothic style with two towers at the front. By the 1920's this church had become too small and was in a bad state. Architect Jan Stuyt, who was already involved with the pilgrimage site just south of Heiloo, was commisioned to design a new church. In general, the new church shows large similarities with the O.L. Vrouw Onbevlekt Ontvangen in Koningsbosch (L) Stuyt was building in the same period. Both are three aisles wide, have a tower standing at the side of the front,  and are in a combination of a Traditionalist style with Romanesque details. Unlike the church in Koningsbosch, which is a pseudo-basilica, the one in Heiloo is a basilica. Originally the church was painted white; in 2000-2001 the paint was removed and a new, modern space added to the north side.