Malate used to be known as Maalat due to the saline waters of the bay; and as Laguio or Lagunoi, the name of the street which separated it from Ermita. it is located by Manila Bay, very close to the sea. One main street crosses it at the center; it is wide and beautiful and leads up to Cavite. The numerous trees make this road a pleasant walk. It lies just three kilometers from the center of Manila.
In 1591, Malate had only one church and one convent. In 1645, the church and convent dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lady (Conception) were damaged by an earthquake. San Agustin describes the latter as "a magnificent work of arches and stone." Church and convent suffered heavily during the earthquake of 1645.Then in 1667, both structures were destroyed on orders of Gov. Sabiniano Manrique de Lara due to the threat posed by the pirate Koxinga.
In 1669, the father provincial placed the convent of Malate under his immediate care and authorized the prior to use the "repository of alms for the dead" for the construction of the buildings. Fr. Dionisio Suarez began the construction of a new church [the second one] and convent made of bricks and stone in 1677-1679. It was completed by Fr. Pedro de Mesa in 1680.
In 1721, the convent was in ruinous condition, and the coffers of the house empty. The father provincial sent a circular to the various ministries of the Tagalogs available. Furthermore, the convent was relieved of the obligation to pay rent to San Agustin Monastery. The money raised amounted only to 400 pesos, just enough to buy the materials. The construction work proceeded very slowly because the prior depended almost completely on funds of the provincial.
In 1762 during the British occupation of Manila, the British occupied the church and turned it into their headquarters. Serious damage was inflicted on the structure. There are no records as to who restored the buildings after the British had taken leave. A typhoon occurred on 3 June 1868 which destroyed the church.
Fr. Francisco Cuadrado constructed the third church, the present one in 1864 almost in its entirety except for the facade in 1864. Fr. Francisco Cuadrado, then the parish priest, started the reconstruction. The "just one," as he was called by his parishioners, toured the city and nearby provinces to raise the necessary funds. His efforts paid off. He apparently got more than what he needed. Thus, he was known for gathering the poor fishermen of his parish and sharing with them his "savings."
There were some restoration work which was headed by Fr. Nicolas Dulanto and was also responsible for the completion of the upper part of the facade between 1894 and 1898. The next decades saw the church attract more devotees. But when the holocaust of 1945 came, the church and convent ended up in complete ruins and the records were also burned to ashes.
During the Japanese occupation, both the church and the convent were burned down leaving only the walls, the Japanese had earlier taken away Fathers Kelly, Henaghan, Monaghan, and Fallon, plus other parishioners, never to be seen again.:145 Rebuilding of the church was undertaken by the Columban fathers during the 1950s. They rebuilt the roof, the altar, the dome and the transept while the interior was painted, and the bricks and the stone outside were returned to their pristine color in 1978.
The old convent was demolished in 1929. Fr. Gary Cogan built a new one in 1930. One of the remaining bells displayed at the entrance of the new convent has this inscription: "Nuestra Senora de los Remedios. Se fundio en 30 de Enero de 1879.
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