La church of san antón It is an example of the Madrid baroque, the work of the architect Pedro de Ribera in 1753, although it had been created before 1742 as the church of the leper hospital. The king Charles IV He handed over the temple to the Piarist Fathers in 1794. On that date the façade was repaired to accommodate the building of the Pious Schools. The profound renovation was carried out by the architect Francisco de Rivas between 1794 and 1832 to adapt it to its new school function. Rivas stripped this church of the typical baroque decoration typical of Ribera, giving it its current neoclassical appearance.

The tradition of the San Antón festival is still maintained today, celebrated on January 17, in which the animals are blessed and the saint's bread rolls are sold. That day hundreds of Madrid residents take their pets to church to be blessed.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the annex building of the Pious Schools It was renovated to house the headquarters of the College of Architects of Madrid, this reform caused the facades of both buildings to be remodeled again.

The church of San Antón began a technological modernization process in March 2015. The parish, after decades of little activity, has just added a WiFi service, outlets so people can charge their mobile phones and is developing an iPad application that will allow the faithful to confess through their tablet.

The project began when the Archbishopric of Madrid handed over the management of the church to the Messengers of Peace foundation. They seem determined to change the image of the church, open it to the neighborhood and organize cultural and solidarity activities.

A abrazo.