Akbar's Church, also called the Catholic Church of the Mother of God or the Akbari Church, is the oldest church in northern India. Akbar invited Jesuit missionaries from Goa to his court in 1580 and gave them permission to build a church in Agra; the original structure was destroyed and rebuilt several times, most recently in 1772.
Inside the cemetery you can find the original tomb of John Hessing as well as graves of European mercenaries, traders, and missionaries who lived in Mughal Agra over four centuries. The church and graveyard together give a glimpse of a less-told story — the European presence at the Mughal court long before the British conquest.