During the second half of the 16th century and the first one of the 17th century, the Jesuits settled in several colleges strategically spread all over Galicia: Orense, Pontevedra, Santiago, A Coruña and Monforte de Lemos in 1593. Rodrigo de Castro, the son of the III Countess of Lemos, Beatriz de Castro, founded the college, gave it to the Jesuits to rule it and dedicated it to "Nuestra Señora de La Antigua". In the building's façade, there is a Latin inscription that says: Rodrigo de Castro Cardinal Archbishop of Seville gives to the Society of Jesus, for the youth's use, the temple and college dedicated to the Virgin Mary". The works started at the end of the 16th century and finished in the 20th century, when it was in the hands of the Escolapios Fathers. The building was divided into two parts: the one dedicated to the school and the one destined to worship, which was of a Renaissance and Herrerian style. It had a temple in its centre and two completely symmetrical side bodies. It is also known as "el Escorial gallego" due to its architecture and magnificence as well as its similarity to this building. It has a cloister, a patio, a church and a school. The Baroque reredos that was started in 1625 was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Various celebrities and scenes that appear sculpted in it make the centre famous: the "Virgen de la Antigua", "San Ignacio de Loyola", and scenes as the one of the "Adoración de los Reyes", the "Anunciación" or the "Visitación de la Virgen a su prima Santa Isabel". The Jesuits ruled the school until their expulsion in 1767, the moment in which all the building's symbols that reminded of the Society were abolished. It was later acquired by the House of Alba, the heir of the County of Lemos, in the 18th century. In 1873, it was given to the Escolapios that had continued their teaching work in the centre. At present, it counts on a distinguished museum located in the old sacristy.