The church was built after Adolf Fredriks parish was divided in 1906 to meet the needs of a growing population in Norrmalm. Construction required substantial foundation work on the site, previously known locally as "the pit". The building was consecrated on 10 June 1906 by Archbishop Johan August Ekman, with members of the royal family in attendance.
Designed as a cross-shaped church with a dome rising more than 60 metres, the exterior draws on Italian late-Baroque models, with a grand east-facing entrance towards Odenplan flanked by paired columns. Latin inscriptions appear above several doorways, and the sculpted portals, created by Alfred Ohlson, include a scene depicting Gustav Vasa receiving the Bible in Swedish, echoing a fresco in Uppsala Cathedral.
Inside, the church is decorated in Baroque style, with marbled yellow and grey surfaces, sculpted angels and cartouches bearing biblical texts. The dome and vaults carry frescoes by Vicke Andrén, including a depiction of the Transfiguration and images of the four evangelists, after whom four corner chapels are named following a 1965–66 restoration.
Among the church's furnishings is a tall altarpiece attributed to the workshop of Burchardt Precht, originally created for Uppsala Cathedral in the 1720s and partly modelled on Rome's Il Gesù. The marble pulpit was designed by Lindegren himself, and the marble font is the work of sculptor Sigrid Blomberg, who also designed a pair of brass candelabra resting on sphinx figures.
Beneath the church lies a three-aisled crypt, first used for burials and later expanded into a columbarium holding tens of thousands of urns, now said to be Sweden's largest. It includes a mosaic and stained glass by Einar Forseth, and a small chapel with an altar fresco by Olle Hjortzberg. The church underwent renovation in 2016–2017, and in 2023 new spaces including a children's chapel were created within two side chapels, built partly from timber sourced from the church's own elm trees.