Votive Temple of Maipú

Its construction was ordered by Bernardo O'Higgins in 1818 as a thanksgiving to Our Lady of Mount Carmel for the intercession for the victory of the Chilean Army in the Battle of Maipú, where the Independence of Chile was assured.

On December 8, 1942, the Marian congress that was held in Santiago reached the sole agreement to build a great sanctuary in Maipú, on the grounds of the old Chapel of Victory to honor Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

During the long years of the construction of the current church, Catholic groups such as Iglesia Joven [es] and Clandestina opposed it because they saw it as a luxury, proposing to give the money invested in it to the poorest people both of the Archdiocese of Santiago and the rest of the country.

The work was delayed due to lack of resources but finally on October 24, 1974, and thanks to the Fundación Nacional Voto O'Higgins (on which the church depends today), the Votive Temple of Maipú was solemnly inaugurated.

The image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, venerated in the church, is a wooden sculpture brought to Chile in 1785 by Martín de Lecuna for his oratory.