The architecture of the church
Although the church no longer has its original architecture or many of the treasures it once held, it keeps others well worth a visit: two doorways, a great dome and chapels such as that of the Architects, by Ventura Rodríguez.
The exterior
One of the church’s doorways is on Calle de Atocha (1). It was originally Churrigueresque, but in the 18th century it was redone in the taste of the time. A large round arch leads into the atrium, where you will find the entrance to the Bethlehem chapel and a bas-relief commemorating the restoration of the space in 2010. Although it is the main entrance, it is very plain: its only decoration is the fresco on the pediment, showing the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, by the hyperrealist painter Ricardo Sanjuán. A modern iron gate closes it off.
The other doorway, on Calle de San Sebastián (2), was originally the main entrance and is far more interesting. It was built with stone reused from the old Atocha doorway. It is Neoclassical: two Ionic columns frame the niche and support the pediment. In the centre stands a modern sculpture of Saint Sebastian by Antonio Martín Méndez; the original, by Luis Salvador Carmona, was destroyed in the Civil War.
From the outside, the church has a complex volume, crowned by a central dome of classical appearance in a distinctly post-war style.
The interior
Inside, the simplicity of the centralised nave (3) stands out, covered by a great dome. On its pendentives are the four Evangelists with the tetramorph, carved by Antonio de la Cruz Collado. The dome is formed by crossing ribs in the manner of Islamic architecture, and at its centre a lantern on lunettes lets in natural light.
4High altar
From the main entrance you can see the high altar, made by the Talleres Granda workshops, which were commissioned to rebuild most of the churches destroyed in the war. At the centre of the altarpiece, a large niche holds a Saint Sebastian by Cruz Collado, a replica of the one Alonso Berruguete made for the convent of San Benito in Valladolid. The whole is crowned by a Calvary by the Sevillian Luis Ortega Bru, with a crucified Christ similar to the Christ of Health and Charity in the Montesión chapel in Seville; the seated posture of the Virgin and Saint John is unusual. At the back, a contemporary stained-glass window depicts the Holy Spirit.
Below is a stone altar with a tabernacle, made by the bronzesmith Pedro José de Villalba to a design by Íñiguez Almech. The tabernacle, in Siena marble, has an Apostolado on its doors reminiscent of the one El Greco painted for Toledo Cathedral. Above it hangs the Virgin and Child by the Italian painter Giovanni Battista Salvi, “Sassoferrato”.
5Main chapel
At the foot of this altar is the main chapel, remarkable for its paintings. Starting from the sacristy door: an Immaculate Conception by Matías Ximeno and a Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian by Dionisio Mantuano, both from the 17th century. On the opposite side, a Holy Guardian Angel from around 1890, by an unknown artist, and the Preparation for the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, a superb 17th-century canvas by the Neapolitan Luca Giordano, known in Spain as “Lucas Jordán”.
Just below, two large parallel chapels (6) with pseudo-Solomonic columns hold the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Víctor González Gil and a statue of Saint Joseph reminiscent of the one by José Luis Vicens in the church of San Ginés.
7Transept
At the centre of the transept shines a copy of Tiepolo’s Immaculate Conception, whose original is in the Prado Museum, painted by María Fuencisla Llorente.
On the opposite side of the nave is the chapel of Saint Maravillas de Jesús (8), who was baptised in this church in 1891. Her full-length portrait is, like the fresco in the atrium, by Ricardo Sanjuán, and the chapel keeps a small relic of the saint.
9Former high altar
Above the former high altar is what used to be the chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, now with a Divine Mercy following the vision of Saint Faustina Kowalska. After her revelation of 1931, the nun asked Eugeniusz Kazimirowski to paint the merciful Christ; in 2019 Ricardo Sanjuán made an exact replica of that painting for this space.
10Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy
Beside this altar is the chapel of Our Lady of Mercy, whose confraternity paid for the present statue in 1942. The Virgin, also by González Gil, is a dressed statue modelled on the original, destroyed in the war, whose old robes have been preserved. On either side hang the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Circumcision, by Luca Giordano.
11The Architects’ chapel
On the other side is one of the most important spaces in the church: the chapel of the Royal Congregation of Architects of Our Lady of Bethlehem on the Flight into Egypt. It was built by the master builder Francisco Moreno in 1693 and remodelled by Ventura Rodríguez between 1766 and 1768. It has a Greek-cross plan and is notable for its coffered dome with cherubs’ heads on the pendentives. The chancel displays a mural of the Flight into Egypt by Joaquín Vaquero Palacios. The architects Ventura Rodríguez and Juan de Villanueva are buried here.