By the late 1870s Sliema had established itself as an independent parish with the Stella Maris Church serving as its main parish church. The population, however, continued to grow rapidly and the local community felt another church outside the area served by Stella Maris church was needed. In 1877, Archbishop Carmelo Scicluna decreed that a new church could be built to complement the religious services provided by the Stella Maris parish church.

The Church dedicated to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, commonly referred to as the Sacro Cuor, was designed by Giovanni Domenico Debono and became a parish in 1919.

The population was still growing however and the church needed enlargement along with repairs to the original structure. In the early 1930s the project was entrusted to Architect Rafael Pitre from Valletta.

The new design included roofing over the side aisles by a series of small domes and the central nave gained a new roof. A new dome was also constructed. Pitre also designed a new western façade far more monumental and imposing that the original designed in the baroque style containing a classical temple fronted central bay flanked by a pair of bell towers.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority scheduled the parish church as a Grade 1 monument on November 10, 1995 as per Government Notice 700.