Avila - Convento de San Jose o de las Madres 34

The Convento de San José () is a monastery of

Discalced Carmelite The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel () or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (; abbrev.: OCD; sometimes called in earlier times, ), is a Catholic mendicant ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s in

Ávila Ávila ( , , ) is a Spanish city located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m a ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is situated not far from the center of the city but outside the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

walls. Saint Teresa of Jesus was the driving force behind the foundation of the monastery, which was built from 1562 onwards. The church (by

Francisco de Mora Francisco de Mora (c.1553–1610) was a Spanish Renaissance architect. Life Mora was born in Cuenca, Spain, Cuenca, and baptized in the parish of Santa Cruz on August 15, 1552. He was an uncle of the humanist Baltasar Porreño. His father h ...

) was only begun in 1607 after Saint Teresa's death. The statue in the facade was commissioned by King

Philip III of Spain Philip III (; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain and King of Portugal, Portugal (where he is known as Philip II of Portugal) during the Iberian Union. His reign lasted from 1598 until his death in 1621. He held dominion over the S ...

via artist Giraldo de Merlo.

History

The Convent of

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

is a monastery of Discalced Carmelite nuns located in the Spanish city of Ávila, in the autonomous community of

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

. It was the first monastery founded by Saint Teresa of Jesus, who had the support of such important figures as the

Bishop of Ávila A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

, Alvaro Hurtado de Mendoza, who was later buried there. The convent was built in the year of 1562, although the church, its most important architectural element, was built only in 1607. On 24 August 1963,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

sent Cardinal

Arcadio Larraona Saralegui Arcadio María Larraona Saralegui, C.M.F. (13 November 1887 – 7 May 1973) was a Spanish cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites from 1962 to 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1 ...

to canonically crown their antiquated image of Saint Joseph, enshrined within their convent. The same Cardinal as prefect of

Sacred Congregation of Rites The Sacred Congregation of Rites was a Congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia, erected on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V by ''Immensa Aeterni Dei''; it was divided into two separate congregations by Pope Paul VI on 8 May 196 ...

executed their papal bull of coronation, initially signed by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

Architecture

The church was designed by the architect

(1553–1610), who devised a church with a single

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

covered with a vaulted ceiling and a dome over the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

. Its main facade can be seen as divided into two shared plans with a pediment at the top and a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

of three arches at the bottom. This design was one of the most imitated in the religious buildings of the seventeenth century and was adopted as a model of Discalced Carmelite construction. Inside the church is the Chapel of the Guillamas family, which serves as the family

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

Conservation

The Convent of Saint Joseph has been protected under Spanish law since 1968 when it was designated a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

. The convent is protected as part of a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, "Old Town of Avila and its extra muros churches". The monastery was not included in the site when it was first designated, but has been added with a defined area of 0.29 ha. It is listed as one of ten ''

extra muros Extra moenia (also: extra muros) is a Latin phrase that means ''outside the walls'' or ''outside the walls of the city''. The phrase is commonly used in reference to the original attributes of a building, usually a church, which was built outside ...

'' churches (that is, outside the walled city) included in the site. The convent currently houses a museum dedicated to Saint Teresa of Jesus, the ''Museo Teresiano'' of the

Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel () or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (; abbreviation, abbrev.: OCD; sometimes called in earlier times, ), is a Catho ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Convento de San Jose (Avila) San Jose Religious museums in Spain Discalced Carmelite Order Discalced Carmelite nuns in Spain Museums in Castile and León Roman Catholic churches in Ávila, Spain Renaissance architecture in Castile and León Buildings and structures in Ávila, Spain

History

Architecture

Conservation

See also

References