JesuitsChurch, opened for worship in 1718, stands out for its Baroque altarpieces and an original trompe l’oeil in the main chapel. Its twin towers of more than 50 metres offer privileged views of Toledo and its cathedral.
The foundation
In 1558, the Jesuits received permission from Archbishop Carranza to establish themselves in the imperial city with the desire to found a professed house, as the city had a university. After occupying several temporary locations, they finally settled in the Plaza del Salvador, with a growing community of priests, students and brothers. In 1583, they opened the college of San Eugenio in a rented house, but it quickly became too small for the 700 students. They decided to buy a larger and quieter site.
Tradition had preserved the site of the saint’s birthplace, which housed a small chapel for worship. By the 16th century, the chapel had become part of the main houses of the fifth Count of Orgaz, Don Juan Hurtado de Mendoza Rojas y Guzmán, who put it up for sale, informing his Jesuit brother. The Society of Jesus decided to buy the site in 1569 in order to build a large church and professed house.
Purchases of plots of land, including that of the Hospital de la Misericordia, exhausted the funds, but were saved by two pious brothers, Don Pedro and Doña Estefanía Manrique, who offered their inheritance as patrons. Although the work was completed decades later and the original plans were never realised, the bodies of the Manrique brothers rest in chapels flanking the main altar, with their coats of arms placed on the pendentives of the dome.
Great Counter-Reformation architecture in the style of the jesuit churches.
Jesuits Church, or Church of San Ildefonso, of impressive dimensions, is a clear example of Counter-Reformation spirituality. It has a single nave in the shape of a Latin cross, with eight chapels on the sides that are connected to each other. Its architecture is notable for the large dome that covers the transept.
Although the Church of Gesú in Rome is the main model, other more recent Spanish constructions also influence its design.
In the deed of foundation of 1602, the measurements to be taken are specified, and a church almost 30 metres long is planned. Mention is made of the interest in making it similar to the church of the Compañía in Palencia. However, in 1605 it was decided that the design should be based on the church of the Colegio de Alcalá de la Compañía de Jesús, improving it as necessary.
Light for the Eucharist
As a good Baroque church and a reflection of Counter-Reformation spirituality, the light is carefully distributed to create a theatrical effect. The central nave has filtered light, leaving the side chapels in semi-darkness. All the light is concentrated in the transept next to the main altar, where the dome with its eight windows generously illuminates the place of the consecration and veneration of the body of Christ.
The architect Monegro and the jesuit master builder Pedro Sánchez.
The design, inspired by the church of the Gesú in Rome and the churches of Palencia and Alcalá, is attributed to Juan Bautista de Monegro. But it was the jesuit Pedro Sánchez who was in charge of the construction, which began in 1629. Pedro Sánchez had already demonstrated his ability and was called upon to direct the works in Toledo and at the Imperial College in Madrid. He probably made a new version of the design, reforming the chancel and the façade. The first stone was laid on 10 February 1629. The year before, the necessary materials had already been secured for the construction, which began with the façade so as not to interrupt worship in the original chapel.
Francisco Bautista and the Baroque façade
When Pedro Sánchez died in 1633, he was replaced by the jesuit architect Francisco Bautista, who had worked on Toledo Cathedral. Bautista designed a bolder, more baroque façade, and also decorated the interior with large plaster corbels and prominent cornices, enlivening the classical architecture.
Bartolomé Zumbigo and the towers
In 1642, construction was halted due to lack of resources. In 1669, the Toledo architect Bartolomé Zumbigo resumed the work. He raised the nave and chapels, added a large window on the façade to illuminate the nave, and completed the first floor of the towers, which were finished with bell towers in 1701.
José Hernández Sierra and the transept with dome
In 1752, work resumed on the church under the direction of José Hernández Sierra. Until then, efforts had focused on the adjoining building destined for a professed house or novitiate under the patronage of San Eugenio. Hernández Sierra was in charge of the transept and its dome, built with a wooden structure covered with plaster on the inside and brick on the outside, and covered with slate slabs. He also designed the new sacristy, inspired by the cathedral and other nearby buildings. The work was finally completed in 1765, just two years before the expulsion of the Compañía de España by order of Charles III.
The great altarpieces of the transept
In the transept, replacing the original altarpieces by Pedro de Luna, are magnificent altarpieces from the former church of San Juan Bautista. On the right, the main altarpiece features a canvas of the Baptism of Christ painted in 1702 by Alonso del Arco, a deaf-mute artist from Madrid. On the left, the altarpiece of the carpenters’ guild, also in the same parish, is the work of Mateo de Medina and has a splendid image of Saint Joseph carved by Germán López Mejía.
Germán López Mejía is also the author of the apostolate distributed throughout the nave and transept, as well as the beautiful image of the Virgen del Socorro in the reliquary chapel, an octagonal space dedicated to the exaltation and worship of relics.
