Jerome Royal Church

The St. Jerome Royal Church (or Hieronymus Monastery) is a Roman Catholic church from the early 16th-century in central Madrid, near the Prado Museum.

The church, which has undergone numerous remodelings and restorations over the centuries is the remaining structure of the Hieronymus monastery that once stood beside the Buen Retiro Palace, of which a portion now serves as the Prado Museum. Its proximity to the palace also underscores a connection to royalty, serving for centuries as the church used for the investitures. In part, This link was cemented also because Madrid only completed its Cathedral of the Almudena in 1993.

For many centuries, the Church of San Isidro served as a de facto cathedral, but while this church was associated with the patron saint of Madrid, St. Isidore was also the patron of manual laborers, not royalty, thereby relegating the role of royal chapel to this church.

The Hieronymus monastery had been built near the river Manzanares, during the reign of Henry IV of Castile in the neighborhood of the El Pardo Palace. But suffering due to the marshiness of the site, during the reign of Isabella I, the Monastery of the Hieronymites was moved to a site next to an incipient royal palace. The new monastery was built in Isabelline Gothic style.

Philip II moved the court to Madrid in 1561, and had the retreat enlarged to become the palace of Buen Retiro. He established a royal bedroom against the presbitery, such that he could hear mass from his bedroom. The palace of Buen Retiro was largely destroyed in the Napoleonic occupation of Madrid (1807–1814). In 1808 the monks were expelled from the monastery and French troops were quartered in the monastery, causing major damage to the building, and the church was almost left in ruins.

The church contains sculptures by Benlliure, Juan Pascual de Mena's (18th-century), and paintings by Vincenzo Carducci and José Méndez, neo-Gothic lamps and stained-glass windows.

Directions:

       St. Jerome Royal Church
       Moreto Street, 4
       28014 Madrid
       Phone: +34 91 420 35 78
       http://www.sanjeronimoelreal.es/

    Opening Hours:
       Monday to Saturday: 10:00 to 13:00 and 17:00 to 20:30.
       Sunday: 9:30 to 14:30 and 17:30 to 20:30.

Subway transportation:
    * Line 1 - Atocha station.