Carrer de Sant Josep, 7
Unlike many churches, the Church of Sant Josep has no square in front. In fact, it is on a very busy street of great commercial tradition. There is an explanation. This church was originally part of an ancient convent of the Order of the Barefoot Carmelites.
The religious complex was built between 1588 and 1603 to house the community of friars. In 1835, with the confiscation of Mendizábal, the religious were forced to leave. However, the building was abandoned and the church reopened it to worship eight years later.
The church of Sant Josep depended on the rector of Santa Maria until 1868, when, due to the growth of the city, Sant Josep became a parish. Amidst the convulsion of the Spanish Civil War, the church was turned into a municipal garage.
Due to its origins, the temple follows the typical model of the churches of the Carmelite Order. It is a building with a Latin cross floor plan and consists of three naves and a dome on the cross. And the sacristy is behind the presbytery.
The façade is of early Baroque style. The image of Saint Joseph and the coat of arms of the Order on each side stand out. You can also see a stained-glass window and sgraffito border. Here it is also interesting to visit the cloisters, decorated with paintings by Jordi Arenas. In the last century, the area of the former convent was the mother house of the Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception, better known as the “Conceptionists”, a congregation founded in Mataró in 1850 by the French Alfonsa Cavín.
