Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Belén, Buenos Aires, Colonial church in San Telmo, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Belén is a colonial church in San Telmo with a Latin cross layout, central dome, and side chapels. Two 40-meter towers with white tiles and plateresque stucco frame the facade, while the restored cloisters now contain a museum displaying historical objects.

Construction began in 1734 under Jesuit architects Andrea Bianchi and Juan Primoli, reflecting the religious influence of the Society of Jesus in Buenos Aires. The towers were not completed until 1876 by engineer Pedro Benoit, showing how the building evolved over more than a century.

The church gives its name to the surrounding San Telmo neighbourhood. The wooden pulpit, commissioned by Manuel Belgrano in 1805 and carved by Manuel G. Hernández, is octagonal, with the Evangelists and the Bethlehemite shield on its panels and a dove for the Holy Spirit on the ceiling. The high altarpiece, built by carver José Merlang in 1833 with the help of governor Juan Manuel de Rosas, has gilded reliefs of marine motifs recalling San Telmo's patronage of sailors.

The church is located at Humberto Primero 340 in Buenos Aires and is easily accessible in the historic San Telmo neighborhood. The restored cloister museum has limited visiting hours, so it is worth planning your visit in advance.

The 2005 reopening of one of the original cloisters put on display objects from the church's past: a leather chair used by the Jesuits between 1734 and 1767, a marble table on which the Bethlehemite fathers treated the wounded during the English invasions, and a pulpit donated by Manuel Belgrano in 1805.