The Templo Votivo de Maipú is originated as a result of a promise made in the Cathedral in 1818, during the middle of the independence process, in order to give homage to the Virgin del Carmen, Patron Saint of Chile. The Army of the Andes asks the Virgin to intercede and help them to stop the progress of the Spanish armies and, in her honor they would erect a Sanctuary in the same place where the victory is obtained.

Thus, in 1818, Bernardo O’Higgins placed the first stone in the Capilla de la Victoria, in the exact place where the Battle of Maipu was won. However, the organization of a squad that is to free the continent leaves aside the construction of the chapel, and just in 1892 the promise made to the Virgin del Carmen was finally fulfilled with a modest construction.

The earthquake of 1927 caused substantial damages to the tower and the clock, being replaced with a wooden campanile. In 1974, the Chapel of Victory is demolished, leaving only the lateral walls standing, which today we can appreciate as a testimony of that period.

In 1942, during the celebration of the “Congreso Mariano” in Santiago it was agreed to transform the humble chapel into a great Sanctuary of the Nation. In order to do so, in 1943, an international public bid was called that was awarded to the Spanish-Chilean architect Juan Martínez, who would dedicate several years to the work, until 1966, when he gets sick and the work is then taken by Rodrigo Márquez de la Plata.

The construction of the temple lasted more than thirty years and was inaugurated in 1974.

It is laid out in a large leveled lot of land, aligned with the construction of the old chapel, designed with all the expressionist strength and monumental dimensions.

It is worth noting that, in 1956 the image from Quito of the Virgin del Carmen arrives in a procession, as a donation made by Rosalía Mujica de Gutiérrez to be venerated in the Maipu Sanctuary and that was temporarily housed in the Cathedral.