Church of Nuestra Señora de la Palma, Algeciras

Church of Our Lady of the Palm
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Palma

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Palma on the Plaza Alta
36°7′51.22″N 5°26′51.84″W / 36.1308944°N 5.4477333°W / 36.1308944; -5.4477333Coordinates: 36°7′51.22″N 5°26′51.84″W / 36.1308944°N 5.4477333°W / 36.1308944; -5.4477333
Location Algeciras
Country Spain
Denomination Roman Catholic
Website Official website
History
Consecrated 6 June 1738
Architecture
Status Parish church
Functional status Active
Heritage designation Bien de Interés Cultural
Designated 4 July 1992
Architect(s) Alonso Barranco, Isidro Casaus
Groundbreaking 1723[1]
Completed 1738
Specifications
Number of spires 1
Spire height 150 feet (46 m)
Administration
Archdiocese Archdiocese of Seville
Diocese Cadiz and Ceuta
Clergy
Priest(s) Jesús Casado Benito

The Church of Our Lady of the Palm (Spanish: Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Palma; alternates Virgen de la Palma and Virgen María, Mistica Palma)[2] is a Roman Catholic church on the southwestern corner of the Plaza Alta in Algeciras, Spain. Listed as Bien de Interes Cultural by the Spanish Ministry of Culture in 1992,[1] like the Spanish: Plaza Alta itself, it is an important city landmark.

History

The church is consecrated to Santa María de la Palma (Mary the Virgin of Palm Sunday) since Palm Sunday 1344 when Alfonso XI of Castile conquered the city after the Siege of Algeciras (1342-1344).[3] That year, Pope Clement VI created the Diocese of Algeciras which was linked to that of Cadiz after he had converted the grand mosque of Algeciras, in accordance with Christian rites, into a church.[4] That city was, however, retaken by the Moors in 1368 and destroyed on the orders of Muhammed V of Granada.[5] The Diocese of Algeciras disappeared with it. The church is the canonical seat of the Cofradía de Jesús Nazareno, Santo Cristo de la Fe, Santa Cruz de Jerusalén y María Santísima de la Amargura (Brotherhood of Jesus of Nazareth, Holy Christ of the Faith, Holy Cross of Jerusalem and Mary of Sorrows).[6] At the occasion of the bicentenary of the church, Santa María de la Palma was made co-patron saint of Algeciras, with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, in 1923 by Pope Pius XI.

Work began on the current building in 1723 when, as a result of population growth, the nearby Chapel of Our Lady of Europe no longer provided sufficient space for the congregation. It was started by Alonso Barranco and completed by Isidro Casaus. According to Pascual Madoz in his Gazetteer of 1843, "the church was completed in 1738 with alms from the faithful and other resources, allowing Bishop Lorenzo Armengual de la Mota on June 6 of that year, to give it the status of parish church which until then had been enjoyed by the primitive chapel of the Cortijo de Gálvez." In 1736, the Iglesia de La Palma, which was still under construction, assumed the paroquial responsibilities. The Plaza Alta, constructed in 1807, includes the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Palma, as well as the Chapel of Our Lady of Europe, palm trees, and a fountain.[7]

Architecture and fittings

It originally consisted of a nave and two aisles but two smaller aisles were added under the gable roof in 1795. The tower, 150 feet (46 m) high, was built between 1793 and 1804.[2] Stones from the old town walls were used as the building material. The blocks, which can be seen in the tower, still bear the marks of stonemasons that can be seen elsewhere in the city.

The church nave

The nave has a barrel vault, separated from the sides by thick Doric columns, while vaulting of the aisles is supported by pilasters. The main features of the facade are buttresses on either side of the door and a niche for the Virgin Mary. The rear of the building was cleared at the beginning of 21st century but there a modern building remains on the left, obliterating the view over the Calle Ventura Morón. Inside there is an 18th-century Italian alabaster sculpture which, according to legend, was taken from a boat that was prevented from leaving the port by bad weather. It was badly damaged during the anti-religious incidents of May 1931 but was later restored. Other features of the church were not so fortunate: the high altar and the monstrance were lost. Due to restoration work, the interior has been completely cleaned up but there are hardly any decorations or pictures.

References

  1. 1 2 Correro García, Manuel (18 June 2011). "Arquitectura Religiosa En Algeciras" [Religious Architecture in Algeciras]. asociacionlatrocha.blogspot.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 Santoro, Nicholas J. (12 August 2011). Mary In Our Life: Atlas of the Names and Titles of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and Their Place In Marian Devotion. iUniverse. pp. 327–. ISBN 978-1-4620-4022-3. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  3. ↑ O'Callaghan, Joseph (17 March 2011). The Gibraltar Crusade: Castile and the Battle for the Strait. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-8122-0463-6. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  4. ↑ López de Ayala, Ignacio (1845). The History of Gibraltar: From the Earliest Period of Its Occupation by the Saracens : Comprising Details of the Numerous Conflicts for Its Possession Between the Moors and the Christians, Until Its Final Surrender in 1642 : and of Subsequent Events : with an Appendix Containing Interesting Documents (Public domain ed.). William Pickering. p. 83. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Chaucer, Geoffrey; Andrew, Malcolm (1993). The General Prologue. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-8061-2552-7. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  6. ↑ Cofradía de Ntro. Padre Jesús Nazareno, Santo Cristo de la Fe, Santa Cruz de Jerusalén y María Santísima de la Amargura. "Official website". cofradianazarenoalgeciras.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  7. ↑ Porter, Darwin; Prince, Danforth (17 July 2007). Frommer's Seville, Granada & the Best of Andalusia. John Wiley & Sons. p. 299. ISBN 978-0-470-14955-3. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
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