OLDEST - Iglesia de San Ignacio - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Superlatives on Waymarking.com

Baroque Church of St. Ignatius De Loyola (Iglesia de San Ignacio De Loyola), the oldest church and building in Buenos Aires erected by Jesuits in 1675, is located in Bolívar street in Monserrat district of Buenos Aires.

Church of St. Ignatius De Loyola, a part of a complex of Jesuit institutions called the Manzana de las Luces (Block of Enlightenment), was erected at the site of older adobe church from 1675 during the first decades of the 18th century. From the older St. Ignatius only southern tower and the front facade were preserved (both from 1686). Both these elements are the oldest preserved pieces of architecture in Buenos Aires.

The construction of the new church, disigned by Jesuit architect Juan Krauss, started in 1710. Juan Krauss din't see the end of his work (he died in 1714) and the construction was finished by several Jesuits architects - John Wolff, Juan Bautista Primoli, Andrés Blanqui and Peter Weger between 1712-1722. The St. Ignatius is structure with typical Latin cross-shaped ground plan with central dome, aisles with arches, first floor open to the central space and with Baroque decorations and glittering altars. The façade has a triple arches with columns and portico between two large inverted brackets, with the front facade atoped by a steeple with two goblets. The Church's design is derived from the "model" Jesuit's Church Il Gesu in Rome. The rich Baroque facade is inconsistent with the serious and austere interior. The northern clock tower was added by architect Felipe Senillosa in 1856.

Thanks to its architectural and historic value was St. Ignatius declared a National Historic Monument in 1942. On June 16th, 1955, during a government campaign against the Church, after a failed revolution against Juan D. Perón government, Peronist mobs damaged church of Saint Ignatius. It was completely reconstructed in 2009-2012.