Iglesia San José and Parque El Poblado

The Romanesque-style Iglesia San José in El Poblado is another of the notable and historic Roman Catholic churches in the Medellín metro area. It faces the popular Parque El Poblado, which lies on the opposite side of Avenida Poblado.

Note that this church shouldn’t be confused with another church of the same name in El Centro, which we previously looked at in our church series.

History of the Church

Inglesia San José was built during the second half of the 1800s and it opened in 1876. The church celebrated its Centennial in December 1976. The church was reportedly rebuilt in the 1920s to address severe deterioration of the building.

Horacio Mario Rodríguez Márquez was reportedly the architect who designed and directed the construction of the church. Belgian architect Agustín Goovaerst designed the vaulting, the central altar and the pulpit in the church.

The stained glass windows in the church were reportedly made in Cali.

Inside the Church

The interior of Iglesia San José in El Poblado is white with gold, green and maroon trim. The church is beautiful inside with a number of artwork pieces and many stained glass windows.

Confessionals can be found along the right and left sides of the church.

Note that Iglesia San José in El Poblado is somewhat smaller than the other churches we have looked at in this series.

Parque El Poblado

Iglesia San José is located in El Poblado on Carrera 43A across the street from Parque El Poblado.

Parque El Poblado is a one square block plaza featuring Iglesia San José on one side, and shops and restaurants around all the rest.

The park has a number of shade trees and is a convenient place to meet up with friends.

In the area around the park you’ll find many restaurants, bars and shops, and just three blocks away is Parque Lleras.

Around Parque El Poblado, you have many options for menu del día – the traditional lunch-time meal in Colombia and El Pilon Guaraceño is a recommended restaurant.

How to Get There

Iglesia San José is located on Carrera 43A (Avenida El Poblado) across the street from Parque El Poblado, which is located only three blocks from Parque Lleres that many foreigners are familiar with.

The church is located about a 10-minute walk east from the Poblado metro station.

Or you can ask any taxi driver in Medellín to take you to “Parque El Poblado,” every driver should know it.

It is relatively safe to walk from the metro station to Parque El Poblado as there are many people on the streets during the day.

There is now sidewalk construction going on along the route along Calle 10 from the metro station but there is a path for pedestrians marked off.

The doors to Iglesia San José are open most of the time during the day; it has been open each time I have gone by in the day.

Note to Readers

This is the fourteenth notable church in Medellín we have looked at in a series on this website looking at the most notable churches in the city.

We previously looked at 13 churches:

1. Iglesia de la Veracruz
2. Iglesia Jesús Nazareno
3. Catedral Basílica Metropolitana
4. Iglesia de La Candelaria
5. Iglesia San José
6. Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús
7. Iglesia San Antonio
8. Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro
9. Iglesia de San Ignacio
10. Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Rosario (in Bello)
11. Iglesia de Santa Ana (in Sabaneta)
12. Iglesia de Santa Gertrudis (in Envigado)
13. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora (in Belén)

The first nine churches we looked at in Medellín were all in La Candelaria (El Centro) and all could be seen in a few hours time.  Most of the churches in El Centro are located within one to seven blocks of a metro station.

It would be possible to combine a tour of several of the notable churches in La Candelaria (El Centro) along with visits to Museo de Antioquia and Plaza Botero.

The majority of the notable churches in Medellín are located in El Centro but we have looked at some in other neighborhoods too.

We are covering the churches in Medellín in a series on this website as we have found that most of the beautiful churches in the city are unfortunately missing from the travel guidebooks of Colombia.

We plan to look at one more church in this series: Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de los Dolores in Robledo, which was recommended by a reader. This will be the last church we look at in detail.

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