The Chiesa del SS. Crocifisso (Church of the Blessed Crucified Christ) was built in the Baroque style at the end of the 1600s with the donations from worshippers. This church was probably bequested the benefit of San Cataldo which , in 1606, was ceded by Francesco Dopro to Falces, the archbishop of Brindisi, so that he could unite it with the Chiesa di Mater Domini, a short distance away. The benefit consisted of a vegetable garden situated near the sanctuary. During the pastoral visit of 1663, the archbishop Francesco De Estrada observed that the church was frequented but in a terrible condition, so he charged Giovan Battista Gazza to collect the amount required to restore it.

The work probably took place, such that the archbishop Andrea Maddalena, in 1725,verified the presence of a single altar and that this was all that was required to celebrate the mass. The description by the Regio Tavolario (royally appointed architect or engineer) Pietro Vinaccia in his Apprezzo del Feudo di Mesagne (Appraisal of the Estate of Mesagne) of 1731 is very interesting. Vinaccia tells us that the church consisted of one large room with a wooden roof, with a raised altar with two steps on which was placed a wooden crucifix venerated by the faithful. It is likely that this church also suffered damage caused by the earthquake of 1743; in fact the year after, the archbishop Antonio Sersale noted that the church roof and doors were ruined and that it only had a single bare altar.

By the end of the 1700s the confraternita del Crocifisso (confraternity of the crucified Christ) had taken up residence and built a vaulted roof. Then, in the 1800s, the current facade was constructed, again thanks to the work of the confraternity.

Worth noting is the testimony of the historian Antonio Profilo who, at the end of the 19^th century, highlighted the name of Caterina Rali as one of the worshippers who at the end of the 17^th century had collected the donations and built the new church. Profilo also indicates a fresco of “priceless value” depicting l’Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) positioned on the main altar, which has since been lost.

Currently, inside the building the statues of Leccese papier-machè are housed, of life-size height, that are carried in procession during the evening of Venerdì Santo (Good Friday).

From 1780, there is a canvas by the Mesagnese painter Domenico Pinca depicting the recovery of the Cross by the empress saint Elena and it is likely that Pinca also painted the Padre Eterno (Eternal Father). The canvas of the Addolorata (Our Lady of Sorrows), however, is from the southern area dating from the first half of the 1700s.