The Church of Saint Cajetan, known as the church of San Millán y San Cayetano is a
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...
church in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
,
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")
, ...
.
History
The present church was built adjacent to the now absent Convent of ''Nuestra Señora del Favor'' (Our Lady of the Graces). It was built at the site of an oratory dedicated to St. Mark and Our Lady of the Graces, and founded in 1612 by Diego de Vera y Ordóñez de Villaquián. Thirty two years later, the father Plácido Mirto establishes a Convent of the
Theatine Order
The Theatines officially named the Congregation of Clerics Regular ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium), abreviated CR, is a Catholic order of clerics regular of Pontifical Right for men founded by Archbishop Gian Pietro Carafa in Sept. 14, 1524. I ...
. The church is dedicated to the founder of the order,
Saint Cajetan
Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene (6 October 1480 – 7 August 1547), known as Saint Cajetan (), was an Italian Catholic priest and religious reformer, co-founder of the Theatines. He is recognised as a saint in the Catholic Church, and his feast day i ...
of Thiene. In 1822, the remaining monks were moved to a convent in
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Province of Zaragoza, Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Ara ...
, and the convent, which had suffered depredations during the
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
ic occupation of the peninsula, was ceded temporarily to the Franciscans of San Gil. In 1836, after the
Desamortización de Mendizábal, the convent building becomes private apartments.
In 1869, the church is joined to the parish of the demolished
Saint Millán Abad (hence the current
dedication
Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church, or other sacred building.
Feast of Dedication
The Feast of Dedication, today Hanukkah, once also called "Feast of the Maccabees," is a Jewish festival observed for eight days f ...
of the church). On July 19, 1936, arson gutted all but the facade. In 1960, reconstruction began on the church. In 1980 San Cayetano was declared a ''
Bien de Interés Cultural
A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries.
The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" (" goods" in the economic sense) and incl ...
'' by the Spanish government.
Description
Construction of the church began in 1669 by the architect
Marcos López. Work was continued by others, including likely
José de Churriguera
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...
and
Pedro de Ribera
Pedro de Ribera (Madrid 4 August 1681 - Madrid, 1742) was a Spanish architect of the Baroque period.
Biography
Ribera worked almost exclusively in Madrid during the first half of the 18th century. He was a disciple of José Benito de Churriguera ...
, and not completed till 1761 by
Francisco de Moradillo.
Moradillo's facade was built of granite, and features three arches. Over the arches are statues of San Cajetan, Our Lady of Grace, and San Andrés Avelino, by
Pedro Alonso de los Ríos.
See also
*
Catholic Church in Spain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Sevilla Cathedral - Southeast.jpg
, imagewidth = 300px
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See in Seville
, abbreviation =
, type ...
*
List of oldest church buildings
This article lists some but by no means all of the oldest known church buildings in the world. In most instances, buildings listed here were reconstructed numerous times and only fragments of the original buildings have survived. These surviving ...
References
External links
''La iglesia de San Cayetano, del siglo XVIII, en peligro de ruina inminente'' El País
''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA.
It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...
, 11 de mayo de 1980
Iglesia de San Cayetano. Madrid Histórico.'
*Translated from Spanish Wikipedia entry.
{{Authority control
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1761
18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain
Cayetano
Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in Madrid
Buildings and structures in Embajadores neighborhood, Madrid