The Church of San Mateo, which was more in the centre of the city, was moved to its current location in 1800, taking advantage of the old Jesuit building, which was unfinished when the Order was expelled from Spain in 1773.

Insufficient income prolonged the work throughout the nineteenth century, intervening in the construction of its dome the architect Justo Millan.

Inside, the main altarpiece by Jerónimo Caballero, from the disentailed convent of La Merced, the carvings of the four evangelists on the pendentives by the local artist Juan Dimas, and some canvases by 17th century Lorca painters - Miguel de Toledo, Camacho, etc. - are distributed in the church and sacristy.