It was constructed from 1602 to 1640 by Jesuit priests who travelled to the Far East to spread Catholicism.
Originally, the church complex also included what was then the first Western university in East Asia.
The church itself was one of the largest Catholic churches in Asia at the time.
This was the third fire in the churchs history.
The wall and facade, however, was strengthened.
The painting shows one of the doors closed and bells mounted in east and west arches.
The dangerously leaning structure was further strengthened in the 1990s with buttress made of concrete and steel.
An 1854 painting of the facade of St. Paul’s Church by Wilhelm Heine.
Photo credit:Darren Poon/Flickr
3D rendering of the church.
