Colegiata de San Patricio

Imposing Renaissance collegiate church, Lorca's main religious building

The Colegiata de San Patricio is the most important church in Lorca and an architectural anthology of the Spanish Renaissance and Baroque. Construction began in 1533 and continued for nearly two centuries, so the building blends a Plateresque main portal, a Renaissance interior, and a heavily Baroque facade on the western front.

The interior is unusually bright and well-proportioned, with a high vaulted nave and a remarkable set of polychrome wooden retables. The 2011 earthquake damaged the building badly and the restoration has been long, but most of the major spaces are now back in use. Sits right on the Plaza de España.

things to do sight
A story
The church was founded by royal decree in 1533 to commemorate the Spanish victory at the Battle of Los Alporchones a century earlier — fought on St Patrick's Day, 17 March 1452. Lorca is the only place in Spain to celebrate Saint Patrick as its principal patron, and the dedication has held ever since.