Templo Parroquial de los Santos Ángeles Custodios, Religious temple in Providencia, Chile.
The Templo Parroquial de los Santos Ángeles Custodios is a Neorenaissance church built in 1884 by Italian architect Ignacio Cremonesi, who also worked on Santiago's Metropolitan Cathedral. Its triangular facade is held by two pairs of columns rising into two mid-height towers, with a dome behind the roof. Inside, a Latin-cross plan has three bays, the taller central one under a barrel vault, with a dome over the crossing.
In 1853 Archbishop Rafael Valentín Valdivieso bought part of the Quinta Alegre estate between today's Providencia, Condell, Rancagua and Seminario streets to found the seminary, whose first chapel was designed by the Spanish architect Manuel Calvo. In 1884 Monsignor Mariano Casanova ordered a larger church, built by the Italian architect Ignacio Cremonesi, who was then in Chile and also worked on the Metropolitan Cathedral. The seminary moved out in 1955, when the church became a parish, and it was declared a National Monument on 12 January 1990.
The left nave's stained glass depicts saints including Francis de Sales, patron of writers and journalists, and Michael the Archangel; two sacristy windows and two clerestory windows honour the "holy wise" who contributed to theological knowledge. The walls carry gilded mouldings framing painted panels, and the pillars are painted in marbled brown.
The church stands in the Vaticano Chico area of Providencia, on a site bounded by Condell, Rancagua, Providencia and Seminario streets; the last is named for the seminary once housed here. The building faces the street with its twin towers and triangular pediment, so it is easy to recognise from the pavement.
The church's founding decree was signed on 16 March 1955 by Cardinal José María Caro Rodríguez and Monsignor Alejandro Huneeus, and its first parish priest was Cardinal Juan Francisco Fresno. The parish later hosted the farewell of Jorge Hourton, auxiliary bishop of Temuco and a defender of human rights.
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