Originally built in 1616, the church did not assume its present form until 1814, when Father Felix Carreon, OFM, set out to repair the church following its initial burning in 1760. Father Martin de Yepes constructed the altars and also had a colonnade of wooden posts raised, thus dividing the nave into three sections. The facade used Ionic columns for its articulation. In 1835, the church burnt a second time but was rebuilt by the Franciscans. The old meter-high image of the patron saint, St. Bartholomew, is presently kept in the rectory. Behind the church are remains of the quadrilateral fort traced to Jesuit times.