Santa Caterina de Siena

Santa Caterina de Siena is a protected church and former Dominican nunnery on Sant Miquel Street in Palma, Spain. It preserves part of a monastery founded by Dominican nuns. The site began with plans by Fray Bartolomé Reus and the bequest of Joan Baptista Despuig. Its church links religious life to Palma’s changing urban history.

The first nuns arrived from Valencia in 1658, settling near La Seu before moving to Sant Miquel Street. The nuns then established their permanent monastery here. The foundation faced family disputes, legal battles, church opposition, and limited resources during its first century. State confiscation later reduced the monastery’s assets. Urban development brought its sale in 1962 and construction of a new building northeast of Palma. That church was consecrated in 1966.

The original church escaped demolition after protection in 1964, while the cloister moved to the University of the Balearic Islands. That relocation kept one monastery feature in Palma. In 2013, the new monastery passed to the Sant Joan de Déu Foundation. Joan Baptista Despuig’s remains were transferred here, preserving a direct physical connection with the foundation.