St. Michael's Basilica

The Pontifical Basilica of St. Michael (Basílica Pontificia de San Miguel) is a baroque Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in central Madrid, Spain. It is located in San Justo Street, adjacent to the Archbishop's Palace. It is the church of the Apostolic Nunciature to the Kingdom of Spain of the Holy See and is now administrated by the priests of Opus Dei.HistoryConstruction began in 1739, on the site of the parish church of Sts. Justus and Pastor. The work was commissioned by Cardinal Infante Luis of Chinchón, Archbishop of Toledo, who subsidized construction with 1,421,000 reales. Construction was completed in 1745.After the Napoleonic invasion, the church added the advocacy of Saint Michael (San Miguel), when the nearby parish church of San Miguel de los Octoes was torn down.The original plans have been attributed to Santiago Bonavía, with perhaps an earlier contribution of Teodoro Ardemans. It was completed by Vigilio Rabaglio to Gandria. On the facade, the allegorical statues of charity, faith, hope, and fortitude were sculpted by Roberto Michel and Nicolás Caresana, adornan los dos cuerpos superiores. A panel by Caresana, on the facade depicts the martyrdom of Santos Justo y Pastor. The cupola is decorated with frescos (1745), by Bartolomé Rusca, depicting the apotheosis of Santos Justo y Pastor.