In 1799 Neale invited three sisters of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary to open a convent at Georgetown.

The church was reconstructed in about 1744 according to Karol Bay's design, and resembles the architecture of Bay's Church of Order of the Visitation.

Visitationist sisters, members of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, are also sometimes called Salesian Sisters, in honor of one of their founders, Saint Francis de Sales.