It is one of the oldest churches in Cuglieri. The first certain record dates back to the early 14th century, when the high altar dedicated to the Baptist was consecrated, apparently on May 23, 1311. It was massively renovated in the early 1800s as it was in a state of serious decay, partly due to the intervention of feudal lord Don Alberto Genovés; since 1862 it has been the seat of the confraternity of the same name, which still exists today and whose dress is characterized by the peculiar red hat in the shape of a Saturn.
In the early 1930s the church was elevated to a rectory and entrusted, with its appurtenances, to the Jesuit fathers of the Regional Seminary for pastoral purposes. In those years the new high altar was built, and the old altars of St. Philomena and St. Christopher were dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, respectively. A small but valuable painting attributed to painter Giovanni Marghinotti is venerated in the Chapel of the Virgin of the Miracle. Some of the attached premises are now home to the Cuglieri Scout group.