The parish of St. John the Baptist, was founded by the decree of the Zadar ordinance of that time. The parish traces its roots to the medieval church of the same name, which was located outside the city walls, erected in the second half of the 14th century. It was mentioned already in the year 1312, and next to that church lived the friars of the eremites of the third order of St. Frane, who cared for the infected patients at a nearby hospice. At the beginning of the 15th century, a monastery was erected near the church. Due to the Turkish invasion, the city authorities ordered the demolition of all existing buildings, and so the monastery of Sv. John in 1536, and the church was badly damaged. In the later centuries the church was repeatedly repaired and in the second half of the 19th century extended.