"Founded: 17th century. Style: baroque.
The church
It is very simple with a single nave. The transept stands out, being covered by a dome decorated with numerous strings of leaf motifs.
As in all enclosed convents, the most outstanding feature is the grating covering the two choirs, the upper one (for solemn occasions) and the lower one (for normal worship), where the Mercedarians attend liturgical offices.
The order’s coat of arms is present throughout the church.
The visual message
The images in the convent church represent the order’s favourite saints:
The main altarpiece, from the late 19th century, contains four principal images from the previous altarpiece: the lower ones are two Mercedarian saints (St. Peter Paschasius and St. Peter Armengol); the upper ones are St. Joseph and St. Joaquin, husband and father of the Virgin respectively.
In the centre, a relief of the Annunciation, the same theme that appears in the convent façade.
Everything in this altarpiece is related to the order’s history and, above all, to the Virgin Mary, who is highly venerated by all Mercedarians.
"The neoclassical altarpieces in the transept (the intersection between a church’s main nave and transversal one) contain the Virgin of Mercy with St. Peter Nolasco (at the moment when Mary inspires him to create the Order) and, in another one, the founder himself helping some captives. The upper circular adornments represent the founder taking holy orders and St. Raymond Nonnatus, one of the most famous Mercedarian saints, who was tortured during captivity."
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