Originally dedicated to Saint Leonard, the church was built through the initiative of the confraternity of the same name, established in Ciminna around the middle of the 15th century.
In 1608, the church of Saint Leonard was entrusted to the Order of Minims of Saint Francis of Paola, who accepted the donation and built a convent adjacent to the church.
The Università di Ciminna (the town’s governing body) contributed to the construction of the convent with the approval of Don Giovanni Ventimiglia, Marquis of Geraci and Duke of Ciminna.
On 17 December 1768, a Royal Decree ordered the suppression of smaller convents, and on 20 August 1792 the Convent of Saint Francis of Paola in Ciminna was officially closed.
Inside the Church
- Saint Leonard (polychrome wood), by Giacomo Brugnone, 1600.
- Saint Francis of Paola (oil on canvas), by an unknown artist, early 17th century, set within an elaborately carved Baroque frame decorated with floral motifs.
- Saint Francis of Paola (painted polychrome wood), by an unknown 18th–19th-century artist.
- Bust of Saint Francis of Paola (polychrome wood), by an unknown 17th-century artist.
- The Annunciation (oil on canvas), attributed to Don Francesco Gigante, 17th century.
- The Martyrdom of Saint Agatha (oil on canvas), by an unknown 18th-century painter.
- Crucifix (painted and gilded polychrome wood), by an unknown 17th-century sculptor.
- The Four Crowned Martyrs (oil on canvas), attributed to the Ciminna-born painter Giovan Battista Mansella, 17th century.
