The land on which the convent and the church were built was gifted to the sisters by Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer, who invited the sisters to come to Đakovo from Switzerland.
The provincial house was built in the Art Nouveau style. According to the Construction Contract concluded with builders and architects Axman and Domes, construction began in 1906. The Contract was signed on 28 September that same year, and works began on 4 October. The works lasted for just over a year. The convent and the church were consecrated on 14 September 1908, on the Feast of the Cross.
Bishop Voršak, marking the occasion of consecration of the convent, wrote: “This new convent is situated at the corner of two streets and it has been built, according to the experts, in the Empire style. It is an imposing two-storey building, with high ceilings on the ground floor, an intricate and tastefully ornate facade and a high mansard roof.” So, in addition to the slender towers of Bishop Strossmayer’s cathedral, the convent of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross and in it the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus also stand as another ornament of the town of Đakovo. This building complex is the most beautiful example of the Art Nouveau style in the eastern part of Croatia. These buildings have been here to make this town more beautiful for a century already.
The Convent of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross is active in the domain of culture as well, with the sisters owning an interesting museum, full of valuable objects and artwork collected over 150 years of their activities in Đakovo.