"The architect Pedro de Ribera constructed the Church of San Jose between 1730 and 1742. The style of the church is Baroque and above the main door is a statue of the Virgen del Carmen by Robert Michel, done in 1750. The Latin cross plan was used for the church, with a central nave and lateral naves with chapels. The main altarpiece is dedicated to the Virgen del Carmen. One side chapel at the front of the church has a very beautiful altarpiece of San Jose, with a sculpture made by Luis Salvador Carmona in the 18th century."
-- Source
"The Church of St. Joseph is a Catholic church located in the central district of Madrid, Spain. It is located at No. 43, Calle de Alcalá, where once stood the old convent of San Hermenegildo.
History
The original convent of San Hermenegildo of religious Discalced Carmelites, was built in 1586 by order of Brother Nicholas of Jesus and Mary, with the approval of Cardinal Gaspar de Quiroga and Vela. The building was completed in 1605, later to be demolished in the eighteenth century.
In 1730 it commissioned Pedro de Ribera construction of the present church with the Carmelite convent annex. It is a monument of great proportions with very ornate facade, ship cannon and cupola, finishing the work in 1748 by Jose Arredondo and Fausto Manso.
The parish of St. Joseph, meanwhile, had been founded in 1745 by Bernardino Fernandez de Velasco, eleventh Duke of Frías. First, this church was in the palace of the Duke of Frias, until during the French domination was moved to the church of the nuns of Gongora, and later to the Hospital of the Flemings, finally standing in the church of the convent of San Hermenegildo, following the abandonment of the same after the confiscation of Mendizabal.
The convent building was demolished to build in its place the Apollo Theater, and later the building of the Bank of Biscay.
In 1912 the architect Juan Moya and Idígoras, limafronte extended sideways, and the height of the church, distorting the composition of the main facade was built in height with adjacent blocks.
Features
It is a baroque church, built on a Latin cross plan with a nave and two aisles. Roberto Michel, one of the authors of the nearby Cibeles fountain, was commissioned to make the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which located on the front of the central niche.
The interior of the church is very rich in works of art. Stands out for its decor, the chapel of St. Teresa, arranged like a miniature church, and enriched with beautiful murals. Also remarkable are a Christ crucified, excellent sculpture of Alonso de Mena, and San Jose, work Luis Salvador Carmona.
Historical significance
By mistake they say that this church was where Simon Bolivar married his only wife, Maria Teresa del Toro and Alayza in 1802, but was in a nearby defunct, the same name that was on the corner of Liberty Street with Gravina Street, and in fact there is a plate pointing. The confusion comes from the church have received the same name as the previous one, and that one department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or embassy within the church placed a plate wrong.
An ephemeris that did take place in the church when it was part of the convent of San Hermenegildo, was the first mass after being ordained a priest of the great playwright Lope de Vega. There is a plaque at the entrance to the church remembers."
-- Source (English translation by Google)