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Convent of San Ignacio Mártir

Loeches, Cuenca del Henares, Madrid

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

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Convent of San Ignacio Mártir

Monument · Loeches, Cuenca del Henares, Madrid

The convent of San Ignacio Mártir and la Madre de Dios, also called "el convento chico", stands opposite Plaza Duquesa de Alba in Loeches, of which it is the oldest religious building. It was founded in 1596 by Íñigo de Cárdenas y Zapata, lord of the town, together with his mother Isabel de Avellaneda and his sister Francisca de Cárdenas y Avellaneda, who took the Carmelite habit under the name Francisca de Cristo and became the convent's first prioress. It remains inhabited by Discalced Carmelites and holds the remains of the founder and of Francisca de Cristo. In 1633 the Count-Duke of Olivares acquired the lordship of Loeches and paid for the village's first water supply, giving several fountains to the convent's nuns.

Photo: M.Peinado from Alcalá de Henares, España (CC BY 2.0)

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