The Church of Our Lady of the Forsaken and of Saint Joseph (), known commonly as the Church of the Forsaken (), is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

located between Venezuela Avenue and the Jirón Recuay of the main square of

Breña Breña () is the smallest Districts of Peru, district of the Lima Province in Peru. It is part of Lima city metropolitan area. Government and politics The current mayor is José Dalton Li Bravo. Geography The district has a total land area of ...

, in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. The current building is the successor of the church built between 1669 and 1671, formerly located at the first block of Jirón Áncash until its demolition in 1937 to make way for the construction of posterior garden of the new Government Palace.

History

Original building (1671–1937)

The original building was built between 1669 and 1671, under the reign of the Count of Lemos, then Viceroy of Peru. Owned by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, its first stone was placed in 1669, with its construction being carried out under Manuel de Escobar ( Cajatambo; 1640 — Lima; 1695), ''alarife'' of Lima. According to writer Antonia Duran, its history dates back to the request for the construction of a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Forsaken made by

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

n merchant Bartolomé Calafé to the Cabildo of Lima in the 16th century, which was allowed through the grant of a terrain measured at 25 '' varas'' destined to the

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

and

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

. Years later, Calafé's daughter, Úrsula Morales, requested more terrain, as did the Jesuit afterwards for the construction of a school for destitute children. According to writer Jorge Bernales, the church was the favourite of the Count of Lemos, who, despite his office of Viceroy, was commonly seen sweeping the temple's street with a

broom A broom (also known as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a ...

as per his humble character, and who requested that his

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

be interred in the church upon his death, which was done. After its demolition, it was subsequently moved to the Convent of San Pedro. Located between the

Rímac River The Rímac River is located in western Peru and is the most important source of potable water for the Lima and Callao Metropolitan Area. It belongs to the Pacific Slope, into which it flows after bathing the cities of Lima and Callao, togethe ...

and the posterior face of Government Palace, it was demolished when the Palace was remodelled in 1937. A new terrain was purchased at the 12th block of Venezuela Avenue, at the Chacra Colorada neighbourhood of

, to house a replacement church.

New building (1945–present)

The building that replaced the original temple was designed by architect and built between 1940 and 1945 in the

Modernist style Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architecture wa ...

. The relics and items housed at the former church were preserved, being moved to the new building. In 1947, the church sheltered the Virgin of the Assumption, patron saint of the city of Chacas, for almost a year. This was due to the fact that the sacred image was consumed by a fire on its platform during its patron saint's day in 1946 and had to be transferred to the capital for its restoration, after this, the altar of the temple was suitable for the virgin who came from the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

to remain at the side of the Virgin of the Forsaken during the masses organised by the ''Chacasino'' residents in Lima in the last two months before its departure in August 1947.

References

{{coord, -12.0556, -77.0515, type:landmark_region:PE, display=title Roman Catholic churches completed in 1945 Historic Centre of Lima Buenamuerte Breña District 1945 establishments in Peru

History

Original building (1671–1937)

New building (1945–present)

See also

References