![Portada Iglesia Santa Engracia Zaragoza 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Portada_Iglesia_Santa_Engracia_Zaragoza_5.JPG)
The Church of Santa Engracia de Zaragoza is a basilica church in
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. It was built on the spot where
Saint Engratia
Saint Engratia ( pt, Santa Engrácia, es, Santa Engracia) is venerated as a virgin martyr and saint. Tradition states that she was martyred with eighteen companions in 303 AD. She should not be confused with the 8th-century Spanish martyr of th ...
and her companions were said to have been martyred in 303 AD. The Basilica of Santa Engracia is located at Plaza de Santa Engracia.
History
The Basilica of Santa Engracia is believed to have been built on the spot where
Saint Engratia
Saint Engratia ( pt, Santa Engrácia, es, Santa Engracia) is venerated as a virgin martyr and saint. Tradition states that she was martyred with eighteen companions in 303 AD. She should not be confused with the 8th-century Spanish martyr of th ...
and her companions were said to have been martyred in 303 AD. Early in the fourth century, a tomb was built on the site of the Christian-Roman necropolis. Around 609 the Abbey of Santa Engracia was established to house the relics of Saint Engratia and the many martyrs of Saragossa.
History, Parish of Saint Engratia
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The Abbey was demolished around 1492 when Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...
founded the Hieronymus
Hieronymus, in English pronounced or , is the Latin form of the Ancient Greek name (Hierṓnymos), meaning "with a sacred name". It corresponds to the English given name Jerome.
Variants
* Albanian: Jeronimi
* Arabic: جيروم (Jerome)
* Basqu ...
monastery of Santa Engracia. After his election to the papacy, Pope Hadrian VI
Pope Adrian VI ( la, Hadrianus VI; it, Adriano VI; nl, Adrianus/Adriaan VI), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his d ...
passed through Zaragoza on his way to Rome, spending Holy Week at Santa Egratia. King Philip III visited in 1599.
The monastery church was largely destroyed in the Siege of Saragossa (1809) during the Spanish War of Independence
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, ...
, with only the crypt and the facade being left.[Amadó, Ramón Ruiz. "Saragossa." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 21 October 2017
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
honored the church with the designation of a minor basilica on the occasion of his visit in 1982.
Architecture
The façade was begun around 1511 by Gil Morlanes El Viejo and completed by his son five years later. It was modified between 1754-1759 after part of the church collapsed. Part of the façade is all that remains of the monastery church, when the present building was constructed between 1891-1899.
The most significant elements of the crypt are the two Early Christian sarcophagi of the fourth century, which were discovered in 1737.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Engracia De Zaragoza
Basilica churches in Spain
Engracia
Baroque architecture in Aragon
Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Zaragoza