The Iglesia de San Esteban (in

Valencian Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the Carche, El Carche comarca in Región de Murcia, Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance lan ...

: ''Església de Sant Esteve'') is a parish church located in Plaça de Sant Esteve in the city of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

History

The ''Iglesia de San Esteban'' is among the oldest churches in Valencia; it is built, in the

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

, on the site of a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

that stood in the city when it was under Muslim rule. It is a rather small church, not far from the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

. According to one legend the site was that of an old Roman temple dedicated to

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. San Esteban was the notaries' church.

St. Vincent Ferrer Vincent Ferrer, OP ( ca-valencia, Sant Vicent Ferrer , es, San Vicente Ferrer, it, San Vincenzo Ferreri, german: Sankt Vinzenz Ferrer, nl, Sint-Vincent Ferrer, french: Saint Vincent Ferrier; 23 January 1350 – 5 April 1419) was a Valencian D ...

(1350–1419) and St.

Luis Bertrán Louis Bertrand ( es, Luis Beltrán, Luis Bertrán; ca, Lluís Bertran; 1 January 1526 – 9 October 1581) was a Spanish Dominican friar who preached in South America during the 16th century, and is known as the "Apostle to the Americas". He is v ...

(1526–1581) were baptized here. Última Cena - Juan de Juanes

"The Last Supper", along with "The Martyrdom of Saint Stephen" and other scenes from the saint's life, painted around 1562 by

Juan de Juanes Vicente Juan Masip (also known as Joan de Joanes) (15071579) was a Spanish painter of the Renaissance period. He is commonly considered the foremost member of the Valencian school of painters. Masip was born in La Font de la Figuera. His fathe ...

, formed the main altarpiece. They are now in the

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

."The Martyrdom of Saint Stephen", Museo del Prado
/ref> The main church is open on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation; the chapel is open daily for mass.

References

Roman Catholic churches in Valencia

Valenica

Esteban Esteban () is a Spanish male given name, derived from Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos) and related to the English names Steven and Stephen. Although in its original pronunciation the accent is on the penultimate syllable, English-speakers tend t ...

Neoclassical church buildings in Spain {{Spain-church-stub