The Catholic parish of the Church of St. Catherine was founded in 1716. In 1738, Empress Anna Ioannovna signed a permit for the construction of a Catholic church on Nevsky prospect, but the construction met continued problems. The initial project was developed by Pietro Antonio Trezzini; the work that began under his leadership was stopped in 1751 after the architect left for his homeland. An attempt to complete the construction in the 1760s, undertaken by the architect J.B. Vallin de la Mothe, was also unsuccessful. During all that time, the parish held services in a temporary church, which hall was arranged in a neighboring house (on the site of the current house on 34 Nevsky Prospect). The construction of the temple was completed only in 1782 under the supervision of the Italian architects Minciani and A. Rinaldi, the latter also being the leader of the community. On October 7, 1783, the temple, which received the status of a cathedral, was consecrated in honor of St. Catherine of Alexandria, the patroness of Empress Catherine II.

Church of St. Catherine is associated with the names of many prominent personalities. In 1798, the last king of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski, was buried here (later reburied in Poland), as was, in 1813, the French commander Jean Victor Moreau. The parishioner of the temple was the famous architect Auguste Montferrand, who would build St. Isaac's Cathedral. Here he got married and baptized his son. He also had his wake here, before his widow took his coffin back to France.

A number of Russian nobles, who converted to Catholicism, were parishioners of this temple, for example: Princess Z. Volkonskaya, Decembrist M. Lunin, Prince I. Gagarin and others.

In February 1984, as a result of arson, a severe fire broke out in the building, bringing the work of the restorers to naught and completely destroying the interior decoration. All the sculptures, the remains of paintings, marble altars and the 12-meter organ of the late XVIII century perished in the fire. After that, the burnt temple stood closed, and the windows were boarded up. The building later housed offices of the Museum of Atheism and private apartments.

The restoration of the normal activity of the Catholic Church in Russia began in the early 1990s. In 1991, the newly formed parish of St. Catherine was registered. In February 1992, city authorities decided to return the temple to the Church. The parish now has about a thousand parishioners.

In 2013, the church was granted the status of a minor basilica. It became the only basilica in Russia.

Like many churches, the building is in the shape of a Latin cross. The transept of the church is crowned by a large cupola. The temple is 44 m in length, 25 m in width, and 42 m in height. The sanctuary has room for about 2,000 people. The main façade of the church has a monumental arched portal, which rests on self-supporting columns. Above the façade is a high parapet, with the figures of four evangelists and angels on top.