Iglesia de San Felipe Neri, Malaga

This church gets its name from its location, the district of San Philip Neri in Malaga. It is also called the Church of Santa Cruz. It was home to several fraternities of Malaga from time to time. Four brotherhoods still have their headquarters here.

The Iglesia de San Felipe Neri was first a small chapel built by the Bueavista family next to a mansion, they owned in Gaona Street. The present church is an 18th century construction commissioned by the 2nd count of Buenavista. Generations of counts from the Buenavista family have made many additions and adornments to the church. The foundations of the church were laid in 1720. The Counts of Buenavista chose the order of the Philippians as the best religious order to occupy the chapel. Worship at the building began in 1785. The church was damaged during the French occupation and later during the Spanish Civil War. In the 1970s efforts were made to restore the building. Extensive repairs and restorations were carried out with the help of the City of Malaga and the ministry of Culture in 1997 and 1998.

The church has a mixture of baroque and classical designs executed by well known architect Jose Martin de Aldehuela. The entire ceiling is covered with elegant ornamentation using glazed tiles. A beautiful statue of San Felipe Neri and the shield of the counts of Buenavista greet worshippers at the entrance.