The Chapel of the Nazarene is a Catholic religious building, with the status of

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

, located in the

old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...

(

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 ...

), in Duque de Tetuán Street, opposite the Principal Theatre.

History

The chapel has its origins in the 14th century. It is believed that it belonged to the parish church of Saint Bartholomew the Elder, which was located in this place, occupying the space of the current Principal Theatre. Another theory is that it may have belonged to the Mendiño family's

pazo A Pazo is a type of Galician traditional house. Similar to a manor house, pazos are usually located in the countryside, as former residences of important people in the community (formerly of kings and nobility). They were of crucial importance in ...

, as the medieval tower was located right next to it. The large ashlars of the old tower can still be seen in this building today. On the other side of the chapel there was once a street, now walled in by a house with a balcony. The chapel that originally existed in this place was called the Chapel of the Emparedadas (Chapel of the Walled Women). It was so called because pious women were locked up there and after entering, they sealed the door with walls, except for a small slit through which the sacraments and food were administered. According to

Xosé Filgueira Valverde Xosé Fernando Filgueira Valverde, or sometimes José Filgueira Valverde (28 October 1906, in Pontevedra – 13 September 1996, in Pontevedra), was a Spanish writer, intellectual, researcher, scholar and critic in Galician language and Spanish. He ...

, this street was already known as the Emparedadas Street in the mid-13th century. The cult of

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

has more than 100 years of history in Pontevedra. It is not known exactly when it began, but at the beginning of the 20th century, the street Duque de Tetuán where the chapel is located was called Jesús Nazareno Street and the chapel was already attracting thousands of devotees.

Description

The chapel, which is believed to have been the former

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

of the former temple of St Bartholomew the Elder, was mentioned several times in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

as a small building with a small stone image of the Virgin Mary embedded in its façade. It is a small chapel and is attached to other buildings by the end walls. The walls are made of cut granite stones and the roof is made of wood and Galician tiles. The entrance door, located on the south side, has a

segmental arch A segmental arch is a type of arch with a circular arc of less than 180 degrees. It is sometimes also called a scheme arch. The segmental arch is one of the strongest arches because it is able to resist thrust. To prevent failure, a segmental arc ...

. Later, upper and lower mouldings were carved to adapt it to the

Baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

, as the chapel is of medieval origin. Next to the door there is an

embrasure An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out ...

. The chapel has a small stone image of the Virgin embedded in its façade. The chapel is very popular and is often visited on the day of the Nazarene to ask for the three graces: health, work and love. The first Friday in March is the only day the chapel is open. The rest of the year, it is only possible to invoke the Nazarene from the outside, through the barred door. Inside is a three-section

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

, with the image of

Jesus the Nazarene Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

in the centre and two images of the Virgin and Child on the sides. There is also an image of the

Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...

. The image of the Nazarene to whose worship it is dedicated comes from

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. The convents of St. Francis and St. Clare in the city also preserve images of the Nazarene that are venerated in

History

Description

References

See also

Bibliography

Related articles

External links