The Colegiata de San Luis in Villagarcía de Campos was built thanks to the patronage of D.ª Magdalena de Ulloa and her husband, D. Luis Méndez de Quijada, who were ayos de don Juan de Austria. Constructed as a pantheon for both of them, the building features original plans by the architect Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón.
Pedro de Tolosa later reorganized the structure in imitation of the Basilica of El Escorial, and the Jesuit Giuseppe Valeriano possibly completed it. Due to the relationship between D.ª Magdalena and Saint Francis de Borja, a colegio-noviciado of the Society of Jesus was built next to the church, where Bernardo de Hoyos studied.
The church served as a colegio-noviciado and a colegio de primeras letras for the Jesuits. It was the first counter-reformation church built in Castilla, serving as a model for Jesuit temples until well into the 17th century. Today, the collegiate and the house of exercises behind it continue to be administered by the Jesuits.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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