La Capilla de San Andrés

La Capilla de San Andrés / The Chapel of San Andrés

La Capilla de San Andrés was the chapel and part of the second hospital to be built in the colonial city of Santo Domingo. It was the first charity hospital in the Dominican Republic.

La Capilla de San Andrés, La Capilla and Hospital Padre Billini.
La Capilla de San Andrés, La Capilla and Hospital Padre Billini.

The Chapel of San Andrés is built next to the Hospital Padre Billini, which originally was called Hospital de San Andrés, and the Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Carmen. All seem to blend together to almost form one structure. The use of brick as its major building material made this chapel a marvel of its time.

Entrance to the Capilla del Hospital de San Andrés
Entrance to the Capilla del Hospital de San Andrés

The wooden sculpture inside the chapel is very unique. Here, it is told, is the place where the people of Santo Domingo conspired and planned their revolt over the Haitian occupation in 1844.

The Capilla de San Andrés and the Capilla Padre Billini blended into the Hospital de la Beneficencia. This was the first charity hospital in the Dominican Republic, later known as Hospital San Andrés. We now know the hospital as Hospital Docente Padre Billini located on Calle Santomé in the Colonial Zone.

The entrance to the Capilla de San Andrés next to hospital Padre Billini
The entrance to the Capilla de San Andrés next to hospital Padre Billini

Interesting:
In 1586 the Chapel and the hospital were burned and looted by the privateer Francis Drake, after having been built 24 years earlier, in the year 1562.

Location:

From Calle el Conde turn south on Sanchez. Go 1 block to Calle Arzobispo Nouel. It is nestled between the Hospital Billini and Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Carmen.

All You Want To Know About The Oldest City In The Americas