About Us

The Anglican Chaplaincy of St Andrew, Costa del Sol (East)

About our Chaplaincy - a potted history

The Anglican Church in Spain - until very recent times there was no freedom of worship in Spain, the only recognised church being Roman Catholic. Hence, St George’s Church in Madrid, built in 1925, had to be enclosed behind a high wall. Similarly St George’s Church in Málaga is enclosed by walls and huge cactus plants. Nowadays under the Spanish Law of Religious Freedom all registered churches have equal status. In the late 1960’s, in response to the influx of tourists and new residents the Revd Arnold Hellicar, then Chaplain of St George’s Málaga, gave up his appointment to concentrate on work along the coast. He gathered together groups of friends along almost 100 miles of coastline and conducted services in hotels, golf clubhouses and particularly in Roman Catholic churches and chapels. In February 1968 Arnold Hellicar founded a new Anglican Chaplaincy based in Torreblanca, not far from where St Andrew’s is situated.

The Chaplaincy of St Andrew is centred on the resort town of Fuengirola and extends eastwards to Benalmádena and westwards beyond La Cala de Mijas to Calahonda where we hold services at 9:30 on a Sunday morning in the Roman Catholic Church of San Miguel, just off the main road. We also have a centre in Alhaurin el Grande where we hold services in the Cemetery Chapel at 11:30am every Sunday morning. The church of St Andrew is located on one of the main streets close to the railway station in Avenida Nuestro Señor Jesus Cautivo, 44. It is in the Jupiter Building on the far corner away from the railway station

Profile of Our Community

This area attracts a high proportion of retired ex-pats, many are long term residents, others are seasonal residents. Additionally there are a lot of British people who work here. Many, and they cover all age groups, are catering for the constant flow of tourists (e.g. bars, restaurants, travel agents). Freedom of movement within the EU has encouraged younger people of other professions to live and work in the area. We find ourselves in a very cosmopolitan area with many Scandinavians, Germans and other nationalities who come to enjoy life here on the Costa del Sol.

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