San José Church ( es, Iglesia de San José), located in

Old San Juan Old San Juan ( es, Viejo San Juan) is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the Isleta de San Juan, islet of San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, Catedral, Ma ...

within the historic colonial zone of the capital of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, is one of the first significant works of architecture on the island. The church is one of the earliest surviving examples of 16th-century Spanish

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...

in the

Western hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...

. In 2013 it was added to the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...

's list of 11 Most Endangered Historic Places of 2013.

History

The church was constructed from 1532 to 1735 by the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

as part of their Saint Aquinas monastery. It was renamed by the Jesuits who took over the monastery in 1865.

Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León (, , , ; 1474 – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Florida and for serving as the first governor of Puerto Rico. He was born in Santervá ...

, the first governor of Puerto Rico, was buried in the crypt of the church from 1559 to 1836, when his remains were exhumed and later transferred to the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista. However, his coat of arms is still located near the main altar. His grandson,

Juan Ponce de Leon II ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

is buried in the crypt beneath the Sanctuary's floor. Puerto Rican painter

José Campeche José Campeche y Jordán (December 23, 1751 – November 7, 1809), is the first known Puerto Rican visual artist and considered by art critics as one of the best rococo artists in the Americas. Campeche y Jordán loved to use colors that referenc ...

is also buried in the church. In 1972, the 15th-century painting

Our Lady of Bethlehem Our Lady of Bethlehem (Spanish: la Virgen de Belén) is a Flanders, Flemish-style oil painting that arrived in Puerto Rico. Specialists in 15th-century art attribute the painting to the school of Brussels painter, Rogier van der Weyden, or to an an ...

disappeared from the church. In 2002, a restoration project on the structure began and several painted murals were discovered including a mid-19th century depiction of the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Soverei ...

. In 2004, the church was listed on the

2004 World Monuments Watch The World Monuments Watch is a flagship advocacy program of the New York-based private non-profit organization World Monuments Fund (WMF) that is dedicated to preserving the historic, artistic, and architectural heritage around the world. Select ...

by the

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...

, which helped the conservation effort.World Monuments Fund - San José Church
/ref> Restoration of the church was completed in March 2021.

Gallery

References

External links

Images and drawings
from the Historic American Engineering Record. {{DEFAULTSORT:San Jose Church Old San Juan, Puerto Rico Tourist attractions in San Juan, Puerto Rico Spanish Colonial architecture in Puerto Rico Roman Catholic churches in San Juan, Puerto Rico

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links