The parish church of Villarroya de los Pinares is Gothic. It was transformed in 1604 by Joan Velez Palacios in Renaissance style. on the initiative of Francisco Peña. The nave belongs to the old Gothic church and is covered by ribbed vaults resting on transverse arches.
While the transept, of remarkable proportions, comprises a large Renaissance space unparalleled in the Maestrazgo region, decorated with harmonious interior facades. These consist of wide classical doorways flanked by pilasters under balconies topped with triangular pediments. The balconies are decorated with grilles that communicate with the rooms that Francisco Peña built for himself. Between the doors and the balconies is placed the Peña coat of arms with five pine trees under a hat with tassels that indicates his position in the religious hierarchy.
To record his work, the patron placed two identical inscriptions in the side chapels next to the main altar:
“Francisco Peña, auditor of the Rota and archdeacon of the church of Zaragoza, built this chapel and sacred altar with his own money and established and gave pious alms in favor of divine worship to support four presbyters and reserved for himself and his family the right of patronage and administration and that it be allowed that the chapel be called Peña in perpetuity. Year 1609.“
This important personage also built in Villarroya de los Pinares his residence known as Peña House. Finally, the former Gothic church did not have a bell tower attached to it and in order to place the bells there they reused a tower of the old castle and rebuilt it in Renaissance style.
