Nuestra Señora de los Dolores: A Beautiful Church in Robledo

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (Church of Our Lady of Sorrows) is a notable and historic Roman Catholic church located in the Robledo comuna in Medellín, which is worth seeing if you like old and historic churches.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores is a Neoclassical-style church dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the invocation of Our Lady of Sorrows.  In addition, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores is a National Monument of Colombia and it has many pieces of religious artwork.

Note there are at least three other churches in the Medellín area with the same name of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, which are located in La America, Sabaneta and La Estancias (in the Villa Hermosa comuna). This article is about the Nuestra Señora de los Dolores church located in Robledo.

The central nave inside Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores

History of Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores

In 1806, a small town named San Ciro was founded, to the west of Medellin in what is now called Barrio San Germán. This town was later called Aná. In this town was a church named Nuestra Señora de los Dolores.

On April 23, 1880, the town along with its church was destroyed by an avalanche of the La Iguaná stream. So, the town relocated to a place known at that time as El Tablazo. The new town began to be called Robledo, in honor of the conqueror of Antioquia, Jorge Robledo.

Construction of the current Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores reportedly started in 1883. And it used a design by Manuel Arenas. In 1895, Ruben Burgos Restrepo was contracted to build the altars for the church. The church opened in the early part of the twentieth century.

On December 15, 2000, this church was declared a National Monument of Colombia due to its historical and architectural value. Since this church is a National Monument all restorations, remodeling, replacement and conservation must have the prior permission of Colombia’s Council of National Monuments.

Inside Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores

Inside the church you will find a beautiful white, cream and red color interior. And the church has wooden pews like most of the churches in Colombia. In addition, the church has three longitudinal naves.

The left-side nave in the church

The right-side nave in Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores

There are many pieces of religious artwork to be found throughout this church. Although the exterior of the church is Neoclassical-style, wood works inside the church like the niches in the walls for artwork are Gothic-style. I haven’t seen many other churches in Medellín with such elaborate niches for artwork.

Religious artwork inside a Gothic-style niche in the wall

Another religious artwork piece

Another religious artwork piece

And another of the many religious artwork pieces

Not all of the religious artwork is in elaborate wall niches

Additional artwork in the church

Additional religious artwork in Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores

Also, like many other churches in the area, Iglesia de Cristo Rey has confessionals on both the right and left sides.

One of the confessionals in the church

How to Get to Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores in Robledo

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores is located in the Robledo comuna in Medellín. One way to get to Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores is by using the Medellín Metro.

To get there you could take Line A of the metro to the Universidad or Caribe metro station. After arriving at the metro station, catch a taxi that will cost about 9,000 pesos from either station to Parque Robledo where the church is located. Or on Line B of the metro, Floresta station is nearest to the church. Also, bus route 250 goes by the church.

An alternate way to get to the church is via a taxi from your location. Many taxi drivers know Parque Robledo in Robledo is located. If not, give the driver the address of the church below.

And it is relatively easy to catch a taxi at Parque Robledo where the church is located to return.

Address: Calle 65 # 85-40, Robledo, Medellín

Phone: +57 4 234 0080

Email: losdoloresrobledo@arqmedellin.co

Hours: The church has the following mass schedule posted: Monday to Saturday: 8 am and 6:30 pm; Sunday: 8 am, noon and 6 pm. The church is normally opens an hour or so before mass and closes a while after mass ends.

Parque Robledo and Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores

Robledo and Parque Robledo

Robledo is the third largest comuna in Medellín with a population over 170,000. About 10 percent of the area in Robledo is designated as Estrato 4 or 5 neighborhoods, which are more the types of neighborhoods in Medellín where foreigners are more likely to live.

I have only met a couple of foreigners living in Robledo that were attracted by lower living costs. One foreigner I met living there pays only 800,000 pesos per month for a nice two-bedroom apartment.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores is located up the hills in Robledo from the Florida Parque Comercial shopping mall. The church is located on the northern side of a small park named Parque Robledo. This park is relatively small but is known by many due to the historic church.

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.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores in Robledo

The Bottom Line: Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores in Robledo

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores in Robledo 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 Roman Catholic church if you like old and historic churches.

Several of the most notable and beautiful churches in the Medellín area are located in El Centro in Medellín. But we have also been looking at notable and beautiful churches in other neighborhoods in Medellín like Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores in this article, which is located in the Robledo comuna of Medellín.

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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