Basílica Menor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá is a notable and historic Roman Catholic church located next to Parque La Estrella in the La Estella municipality south of Medellín, which is worth seeing if you like old churches.
Furthermore, this Catholic church has many beautiful stained-glass windows and many pieces of religious artwork.
Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá in La Estralla is a neo-Gothic-style church that is considered a sanctuary in honor of the Virgin of the Rosary.
Don’t be confused with other churches in the Medellín metro area that have similar names. For example, arguably the most beautiful church in the metropolitan area is Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Rosario located in Bello.
In addition, we included Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá in La Estralla in our list of the top 14 churches in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley.
History of Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá
Basílica Menor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá was designed by Martín Rodríguez in a neo-Gothic style. The church reportedly was inaugurated in 1923.
The church is considered a Marian sanctuary in honor of the Virgin of the Rosary, also known as La Chinca.
There is an image shown on painting in the church that is very similar to a painting in a church located in the municipality of the department of Boyacá with the same name: Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá . Differentiating both paintings is a star between San Antonio and the Virgin. This painting in the church in La Estrella is located over the main alter.
Furthermore, the church in La Estrella was named a Minor Basilica on April 16, 1986.
Inside Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá
Inside the church you will find a beautiful interior that is white with green, gold and pink trim. And the church has wooden pews.
In addition, the church has many beautiful stained-glass windows.
Furthermore, there are many pieces of religious artwork to be found throughout this church.
Like many other churches in the city, Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá has confessionals on both the right and left sides.
Also, the church sometime holds funeral services and it has a small crypt.
Parque La Estrella
Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá is located directly west of Parque La Estrella, which is the main park in the La Estrella municipality.
Parque La Estrella is likely the most popular park in La Estrella. It is a one square block plaza that has the church on one side and many small local restaurants, bars and shops along the other sides.
This park has a few shade trees and is considered a good place to meet up with friends in the neighborhood.
How to Get to Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá
The easiest way to get to Basílica Menor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá in La Estrella is via the metro. To get there you would take the Medellín Metro Line A to La Estrella station.
From the La Estella metro station, you can catch a metro bus for 2,200 pesos to near Parque La Estrella or there are taxis usually available at the metro station for a minimum 5,600 peso fare to Parque La Estrella.
In addition, many taxi drivers in Medellín will know where Parque La Estrella is located.
Address: Calle 81 Sur # 61-16, La Estrella
Phone: +57 4 279 0141
Email: rosariodechiquinquira@arqmedellin.co
Hours: In the church, it is posted it’s open Tuesday to Friday 8 am to 11 am and 2 pm to 5 pm and Saturday and Sunday 9 am to 3 pm. And it’s closed on Monday. But I have seen this church open other hours, as it sometimes has mass at different hours.
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:
- Catedral Basílica Metropolitana – the main church of the Archdiocese of Medellín and the largest church in the city.
- Iglesia de La Candelaria – the oldest church in Medellín, which is also a National Monument of Colombia.
- 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.
- Iglesia Jesús Nazareno – another of the most beautiful churches in Medellín.
- Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro – a beautiful Gothic-style church in Medellín.
- Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús – a neo-Gothic-style church located in Barrio Triste in Medellín.
- Iglesia de San José – a Boroque-style church located in El Centro, Medellín.
- Iglesia del Señor de las Misericordias – a neo-Gothic-style church located in the Manrique neighborhood of Medellín.
- Iglesia San José – a Romanesque-style church located next to Parque Poblado in El Poblado.
- 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.
- Iglesia de San Ignacio – a beautiful church in El Centro with a Baroque-style exterior and colonial interior.
- Iglesia de Nuestra Señora – a Roman-style church located next to Parque Belén in Medellín.
- Iglesia el Calvario – a Romanesque-style church in the Aranjuez comuna in Medellín.
- Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio – a neo-Romanesque-style church in the Boston barrio in Medellín.
- 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.
- Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores – a Neo-Byzantine-style church in the La América comuna in Medellín.
- Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Corazón – a beautiful Neo-Gothic-style church in the Buenos Aires comuna in Medellín.
- Iglesia de Cristo Rey – a beautiful church in the Guayabal comuna of Medellín with many beautiful stained-glass windows.
- 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.
- 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.
- Iglesia de El Niño Jesús de Praga – a beautiful church in the Villa Hermosa comuna in Medellín.
- 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:
- Iglesia de Santa Gertrudis – a beautiful church in Envigado located next to Parque Envigado.
- Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Rosario – a church located in Bello that is arguably the most beautiful church in the Aburrá Valley
- Iglesia de Santa Ana – a very popular church in Sabaneta located next to Parque Sabaneta.
- Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario – a historic church in Itagüí near Medellín with a history that traces back to 1743.
- Nuestra Señora Chiquinquirá – a beautiful church in La Estrella with a Neo-Gothic-style.
- 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.
- 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.
- Catedral de Nuestra Señora del Rosario – a Neo-Romanesque-style church located in the Girardota municipality northeast of Medellín.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
The Bottom Line: Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá
Basílica Menor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá in La Estrella is not found in any of the 10 English language Colombia travel guidebooks that I have. But it’s worth stopping to see this notable church if you like old churches with beautiful stained-glass windows.
Several of the most notable and beautiful churches in Medellín are located in El Centro but we are also looking at notable and historic churches in other neighborhoods in the Medellín metropolitan 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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2 thoughts on “Nuestra Señora Chiquinquirá: Beautiful Church in La Estrella”
This is a beautiful church that I visiting recently as a good friend lives nearby in La Estrella. I love your church series with all the photos.
Thanks for covering another of the beautiful churches in the Medellin area. I didn´t know about this church in La Estrella and I love churches with stained glass windows. So thanks!