Holy and Distinguished Cathedral of the Magistral of Saints Justo and Pastor

The Cathedral of Saints Justo and Pastor in Alcalá de Henares, along with the church of Saint Peter in Leuven (Belgium), is the only temple that receives the title of Collegiate Church, meaning all its canons had to be doctors in theology.

It was built in 1514 in the Elizabethan Gothic style and declared a National Monument (1904).

According to legend, during Diocletian's great persecution of Christians (284-305 AD), the martyrdom of Saints Justo and Pastor occurred. Both were only nine years old when they were executed (304 AD) outside Complutum for refusing to renounce Christianity. At the same spot where they were executed, a chapel was built for their remains (414 AD) and became a cathedral in Visigothic times.

After various historical vicissitudes of Castilian Middle Ages (Muslim destruction in 1054, reconstruction after Christian reconquest in 1122), Archbishop Carrillo (1446-1482) rebuilt the church and elevated it to the rank of collegiate church. In the time of Cardinal Cisneros (1495-1517), it received the title of “Magistral,” and the current building was constructed.

During the Spanish Civil War, the church was set on fire and its treasures lost. A few chairs and railings were saved from the old choir. It was in 1991 that the diocese of Alcalá was restored and elevated to a cathedral-collegiate.

The building presents a simple and austere exterior image. The Renaissance tower topped with a slate spire in the purest Herrerian style, the work of Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón and Rodrigo Argüello, stands out. Its walls are covered with Segovian sgraffito. The west façade's portal belongs to Florid Gothic, with Saint Ildefonso represented in the central medallion.

Its structure features a Latin cross plan with three naves covered by ribbed vaults on clustered pillars.

The central nave lacks a main altarpiece, which was Gothic in style with panels painted on the Passion of Christ. It is presided over by The Virgin of Cisneros. In the presbytery, a table given by Pope Sixtus V to Philip II is preserved. Its apse has sturdy buttresses and an ambulatory alternating rectangular and triangular segments on Gothic pilasters with cardinas. It is in the same ambulatory where the crypt of the martyred saints is located.

Almost nothing remains of the original Gospel nave. But the Epistle nave still houses the most notable chapels saved after the Spanish conflict and the parish of Saint Peter (1622). The parish has a granite portal in the Herrerian style, while its interior is Baroque with a semicircular dome. The Chapel of the Virgin of Val houses the image, patroness of Alcalá. The incorrupt body of Saint Diego of Alcalá is preserved in its namesake chapel and displayed to the faithful on his feast day (13th of November).

The cloister (17th century) is simple in arched design, Herrerian style with engaged pilasters between each arch. The Interpretive Center is located in its galleries.

The Diocesan Museum was inaugurated in 1997. Noteworthy are the monograph of the Holy Children Justo and Pastor and the tomb of Archbishop Carrillo.