How to get the Church Key in Resident Evil 4 Remake

Resident Evil 4 Church Insignia remake
(Image credit: Capcom)

The Resident Evil 4 Church key in the Remake is actually called the Church Insignia, a special object found in a cave to the South of the Lake. To get it, not only will you have to kill Del Lago and El Gigante, but you'll also have to find the location of the Apostate's Head and Blasphemer's Head, a pair of stone statues that allow you to access the Church Insignia. Yes, the RE4 Remake is the kind of game that hides keys behind other keys. I suppose setting up a good security system is hard to ask of anybody whose brain has been replaced with an angry plate of spaghetti.

Nevertheless, we'll take you through how to find the Church Insignia and unlock the Church in Resident Evil 4 Remake below, and how you can find the Apostate's Head and Blasphemer's Head to access the Insignia below.

How to unlock the Church in Resident Evil 4 Remake

Resident Evil 4 Church Insignia remake

(Image credit: Capcom)

To get into the Church in Resident Evil 4 Remake, as mentioned, players need to get the Church Insignia and set it into the empty divot you can interact with at the church's main entrance, similar to the Resident Evil 4 eagle lock gate you found in the valley earlier. Unfortunately the Church Insignia will take a LOT longer to get - this isn't a simple fetch quest, but a sequence of challenges that'll take you across much of the map. Fortunately, we'll lay it out clearly and concisely for you below.

How to get the Resident Evil 4 Church Insignia

Resident Evil 4 Church Insignia remake

(Image credit: Capcom)

The Insignia in the Church is found in the Mural Cave south of the Lake, blocked by a a mechanical contraption that holds it in place. To reach it, players will have to fuel a boat and fight the monster Del Lago, reach the Shrine, then go about finding the Apostate's Head and Blasphemer's Head to place in the open stone hands, which unlocks the mechanism. Then you gotta kill another boss, El Gigante, Here's the full sequence of events - just check the map above to see where you need to be next.

  1. From the Church, follow the path through the quarry 
  2. This'll take you to the Merchant's dock. Use this point to prepare for what's ahead, and take the chance to destroy one of the Resident Evil 4 Clockwork Dolls.
  3. From the Merchant's Dock, head North to the pier controlled by enemies, where you'll see a boat that needs refuelling.
  4. Go West into the Fish Farm - at the end you'll find some Boat Fuel (as well as a lot of Resident Evil 4 vipers)
  5. Head back to the dock and refuel the boat you saw. This'll take you to a boss fight with Del Lago on the Lake.
  6. Afterwards, you'll be put at the Boat House, with enemies to fight. 
  7. Follow the South path to the Mural Cave to find the Church Insignia behind the locked mechanism.
  8. Follow the path around to an intact boat. 
  9. Boat to the Large Cave Shrine and kill the enemies while memorising the symbols painted on the walls. Enter them into the console at the end to get the Apostate's Head.
  10. Get back to the Boat and go across the lake to the Small Cave Shrine. Again, enter the symbols on the wall in the little house to get the Blasphemer's Head. Some are split in half and will require you to stand in a specific angle to see them.
  11. Head back through the quarry towards the church, where you'll have a boss fight with El Gigante. After it's dead, head back and unlock the Church with the Church Insignia. Now you can solve the Resident Evil 4 Church light puzzle to rescue Ashley.

Don't worry about unlocking the church - while this will move you to the next chapter and bring in new enemies, it's not a point of no return that'll stop you from accessing the rest of the village region.

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Joel Franey
Guides Writer

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.