A cemetery for Christians was established on land granted by Akbar (r. 1556-1605). While foreign Christians were a normal part of the Agra court from earlier times, Akbar took the step of inviting Jesuit missions from Goa, to serve as educators and advisers to the court and to minister to foreign residents in Agra. The cemetery is believed to have been named after a group of priests martyred in 1633. Christians from various denominations and nations including Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Holland, and Italy are known to be interred in the chapel.