Our Lady of the Forsaken, Catholic church in Breña, Lima, Peru

Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados is a Modernist Catholic church at the 12th block of Venezuela Avenue in Breña, Lima, built between 1940 and 1945 to replace the original church demolished for the Government Palace gardens. Its design is attributed to architect Carlos Morales Macchiavello. The photograph shows a yellow tower with red cross motifs and a red wing with rows of rectangular windows behind a black metal fence.

The Jesuits built the first church between 1669 and 1671 on Jirón Áncash, behind the Government Palace, with the alarife Manuel de Escobar taking part in its design; the first stone was laid in 1669 and the temple inaugurated on 30 January 1672 under Viceroy Count of Lemos. Damaged by an earthquake, it was rebuilt with a neoclassical façade finished in 1897. Demolished in 1937 to enlarge the palace gardens, it was replaced by the present building on Venezuela Avenue, begun in 1940 and inaugurated in 1945.

The image of the Virgin of the Forsaken, adapted by sculptor Tomás de la Parra from a Virgin of the Pillar, was moved to the church on 17 December 1660; tradition holds that silversmith Diego Asencio regained his sight and gave her a gold and diamond sceptre. The Jesuit Francisco del Castillo began the Meditation of the Seven Words on Good Friday here.

The church stands at the 12th block of Venezuela Avenue in Breña, in the Chacra Colorada neighbourhood, far from the old site by the Government Palace. Its modernist building, by architect Carlos Morales Macchiavello, was built between 1940 and 1945, so look for the yellow tower with the red cross and the red wing along the avenue.

The venerated image is a Virgin of the Pillar from Valencia, adapted by sculptor Tomás de la Parra after Father Francisco del Castillo saw it in Úrsula Calafe's oratory. Tradition holds that the silversmith Diego Asencio regained his sight during its transfer on 17 December 1660 and gave the Virgin a gold and diamond sceptre in thanks.