Iglesia de Nuestra Señora: A Beautiful Church in Belén

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Belén is a notable and historic Roman Catholic church located next to Parque Belén in the Belén neighborhood of Medellín, which is worth seeing if you like old churches. Furthermore, this Catholic church has many pieces of beautiful religious artwork.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora is a Roman-style church that is dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the invocation of Our Lady of Belén.

The central nave inside Iglesia de Nuestra Señora

History of Iglesia de Nuestra Señora

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora’s history traces back to the late seventeenth century, when a very small church was initially built at this location in Belén. And in 1792, when Bishop of Popayán Ángel Velarde visited, he determined the church in Belén was too small as it only accommodated about 40 people with difficulty when more than 100 normally attended mass.

The parish in the small church was established in 1814. But it wasn’t until 1870 when Parish priest Lorenzo Escobar began expanding and widening the chapel that served as the parish church. Approximately 25 years later, Canon Ignacio Duque reportedly completely rebuilt the church, with a new facade, towers and dome that is seen today.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora has a very old and valuable painting of the Virgin Mary that was brought to Colombia from Spain in the early seventeenth century. The painting was stolen in the early morning on November 9, 2014. But it was returned days later missing some jewels that accompanied the painting.

Inside Iglesia de Nuestra Señora

Inside the church you will find a beautiful interior that is white with burgundy, gold and wooden trim. And the church has wooden pews.

One of many pieces of religious artwork in the church

Another piece of religious artwork in the church

Another example of religious artwork in Iglesia de Nuestra Señora

Additional religious artwork

There are many pieces of religious artwork to be found throughout this church.

Confessionals in the church

Like many other churches in the city, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora has confessionals on both the right and left sides.

In addition, the church sometime holds funeral services and it has a small crypt.

Parque Belén

Parque Belén

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora is located directly west of Parque Belén, which is the main park in the Belén neighborhood.

Parque Belén is likely the most popular park in Belén. It is similar to Parque Sabaneta as it’s a one square block plaza that has a church on one side and many small local restaurants, bars, casinos and shops along the other sides.

Vendors selling arts and crafts in Parque Belén

This park has a number of shade trees and is considered a good place to meet up with friends in the neighborhood. In addition, Parque Belén frequently has a number of vendors with carts selling inexpensive arts and crafts.

Vendors selling inexpensive vegetables in Parque Belén

Furthermore, there are frequently vendors selling inexpensive vegetables directly outside the church as you enter Parque Belén.

In addition, the largest mall in Belén, Centro Commerical Los Molinos is located about a 10-minute walk west from Parque Belén.  I used to live in Belén near Los Molinos mall and I sometimes went to Parque Belén to eat inexpensive lunches in the nearly small restaurants.

Parque Belén

How to Get to Iglesia de Nuestra Señora

The easiest way to get to Iglesia de Nuestra Señora is via the metro. To get there you would take Line A to Industriales station. From the Industriales metro station, it’s a short walk to the Metroplús Industriales station. And take either a Line 1 or Line 2 Metroplús bus towards U. de M. (University of Medellín).

Get out at the Belén Metroplús station. Parque Belén and Iglesia de Nuestra Señora are located about one block from the Belén station.

In addition, just about every taxi driver in Medellín will know where Parque Belén is located.

Address: Carrera 77 # 30A-17, Belén, Medellín

Phone: +57 4 238 5107

Email: nuestrasenoradebelen@arqmedellin.co

Hours: The church is normally open in the mornings until after the last mass at noon. After that the doors may close and open later for a later mass.  So, if not going in the morning, we recommend calling to make sure the church is open.

The Beautiful Churches in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley

In the metropolitan Medellín metro area (Aburrá Valley), there are over 300 Roman Catholic churches. Most notably, there is a complete list of all the churches of the Archdiocese of Medellín.

We have looked at a total of 33 beautiful churches in the Medellín metro area and the Aburrá Valley in a series on this website. And 22 of the churches we have looked at in detail are in Medellín:

1. Catedral Basílica Metropolitana – the main church of the Archdiocese of Medellín and the largest church in the city.
2. Iglesia de La Candelaria – the oldest church in Medellín, which is also a National Monument of Colombia.
3. Iglesia San Antonio and Plaza San Antonio – the church with the largest dome in Medellín located next to Plaza San Antonio with four Fernando Botero sculptures.
4. Iglesia Jesús Nazareno – another of the most beautiful churches in Medellín.
5. Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro – a beautiful Gothic-style church in Medellín.
6. Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús – a neo-Gothic-style church located in Barrio Triste in Medellín.
7. Iglesia de San José – a Boroque-style church located in El Centro, Medellín.
8. Iglesia del Señor de las Misericordias – a neo-Gothic-style church located in the Manrique neighborhood of Medellín.
9. Iglesia San José – a Romanesque-style church located next to Parque Poblado in El Poblado.
10. Iglesia de la Veracruz – a colonial church with a history that goes back to 1682, which makes it one of the oldest churches in Medellín.
11. Iglesia de San Ignacio – a beautiful church in El Centro with a Baroque-style exterior and colonial interior.
12. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora – a Roman-style church located next to Parque Belén in Medellín.
13. Iglesia el Calvario – a Romanesque-style church in the Aranjuez comuna in Medellín.
14. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio – a neo-Romanesque-style church in the Boston barrio in Medellín.
15. Iglesia de San Benito – a neo-Romanesque-style church with a history that traces back to 1678, which make it one of the oldest churches in Medellín.
16. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores – a Neo-Byzantine-style church in the La América comuna in Medellín.
17. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Corazón – a beautiful Neo-Gothic-style church in the Buenos Aires comuna in Medellín.
18. Iglesia de Cristo Rey – a beautiful church in the Guayabal comuna of Medellín with many beautiful stained-glass windows.
19. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores – a beautiful Neoclassical-style church in the Robledo comuna of Medellín, which is also a National Monument of Colombia.
20. Iglesia del Cementerio San Pedro – a beautiful church built in 1929 that has some of the most beautiful stained-glass windows found in the churches in Medellín.
21. Iglesia de El Niño Jesús de Praga – a beautiful church in the Villa Hermosa comuna in Medellín.
22. Iglesia San Joaquín – a beautiful church in the Laureles-Estadio comuna in Medellín that is reportedly the second largest church in Medellín.

Also, we have looked at the principal church in each of the other nine municipalities in the Aburrá Valley:

1. Iglesia de Santa Gertrudis – a beautiful church in Envigado located next to Parque Envigado.
2. Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Rosario – a church located in Bello that is arguably the most beautiful church in the Aburrá Valley
3. Iglesia de Santa Ana – a very popular church in Sabaneta located next to Parque Sabaneta.
4. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario – a historic church in Itagüí near Medellín with a history that traces back to 1743.
5. Nuestra Señora Chiquinquirá – a beautiful church in La Estrella with a Neo-Gothic-style.
6. Catedral Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes – a Neoclassical-style church with a history that traces back to 1793 and is located in the Caldas municipality south of Medellín.
7. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción – a Baroque-style church with a history that traces back to 1715 and is located in the Copacabana municipality north of Medellín.
8. Catedral de Nuestra Señora del Rosario – a Neo-Romanesque-style church located in the Girardota municipality northeast of Medellín.
9. Iglesia de San Antonio de Padua – a Neo-Romanesque-style church located in the Barbosa municipality northeast of Medellín.

Also, we looked at two smaller colonial-style churches while looking in detail at two nearby larger churches:

1. Hato Viejo Chapel – a colonial-style church in Bello built between 1772 and 1796. It’s also a National Monument of Colombia. We looked at Hato Viejo Chapel while covering Nuestra Señora del Rosario.
2. Capilla de María Auxiliadora – a colonial-style church in Barbosa built between 1773 and 1776. We looked at Capilla de María Auxiliadora while covering Iglesia de San Antonio de Padua.

In addition, we looked at Las Lajas Sanctuary located in Ipiales, Colombia, which is considered the most beautiful church in Colombia. Also, it’s considered by many to be one of the most beautiful churches in the world.

Religious artwork found inside Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Belén

Façade of Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Belén

The Bottom Line: Iglesia de Nuestra Señora

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Belén is not found in any of the 10 English language Colombia travel guidebooks that I have. But it’s worth stopping to see this beautiful and historic church.

And it’s easy to get to since the church is located next to Parque Belén, which is located one block for the Belén Metroplús station. Several of the most notable churches in Medellín are located in El Centro but we are also looking at notable and historic churches in other neighborhoods in the Medellín area.

Seems like, in my experience, that most of the travel guidebooks in English about Colombia are missing many of the best places in the cities and pueblos in Colombia.

Consequently, we have covered the beautiful churches in the Medellín metro area in a comprehensive series on this website. Most noteworthy, we did this since a majority of the beautiful and notable churches in the city are missing from the English-language travel guidebooks about Colombia.

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