Parroquia de Santa Filomena (Parish of Santa Filomena) is a church located in the Patronato District of the Recoleta Municipality in the city of Santiago Chile. This church is named after Santa Filomena, a saint

Saint

A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

 and a martyr

Martyr

A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...

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The Santa Filomena Church was built in 1884 by the architect Eugenio Joannon and under the supervision of Ruperto Marchant, a priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

. This church is the result of the war against the Indians volunteer and non profit organizations that followed the Rerum Novarum

Rerum Novarum

Rerum Novarum is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on May 15, 1891. It was an open letter, passed to all Catholic bishops, that addressed the condition of the working classes. The encyclical is entitled: “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labour”...

 Encyclical pronounced by Pope Leo XII

Pope Leo XII

Pope Leo XII , born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiore Girolamo Nicola Sermattei della Genga, was Pope from 1823 to 1829.-Life:...

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The church follows a Neo-Gothic style. The inside is decorated with paintings that emulate materials such as stone and marble. A chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro in art is "an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted"....

 effect is obtained with the glass paintings that were brought directly from France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. This church was used by the Josephite Fathers

Josephite Fathers

The Josephite Fathers and Brothers or, more properly, Saint Joseph's Society of the Sacred Heart, Inc. are a society of Catholic priests and brothers, based in the United States. It was formed in 1871 by a group of priests from the English Foreign Mission Society of Saint Joseph, also known as...

 Congregation that came from Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and was built with donations from wealthy families of the nineteenth century.

The Santa Filomena church has resisted numerous earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

s that have left it with structural damage. A 1985 earthquake was particularly harmful. The damage has however been repaired. Since 1995 the Santa Filomena Church was declared Chilean national heritage.

The church was restored thanks to the contributions of the Patronato District. It is not only an important attraction of this district, but it is also used a temple of worship.