History
The current Church of the O has its origins in an old hermitage-hospital dedicated to Saint Bridget of Ireland, run by a Brotherhood with this same dedication, according to documents from the fifteenth century that are preserved. In it began to practice the contemplation of the Mystery of the Expectation of Our Lady, an ancient title for the Virgin Mary pregnant and waiting for childbirth (dedications of the O and Hope).
Later, the brotherhoods of Our Lady Santa María de la O and Santa Brígida and the Virgins Santa Justa and Rufina were created there, which were established in this hermitage on an undetermined date between the 15th and 16th centuries. The merger of the three aforementioned brotherhoods would lead to the drafting of the first rules, which were approved in 1566.
In the last years of the 17th century, and due to the reduced dimensions of the chapel and its poor state of conservation, it was decided to build a new temple, beginning the works in the year 1697 under the direction of master builders Pedro and Félix Romero, sons of the then Mayor Master of the Factories of the Archbishopric , Pedro Romero , author of the project.
Really, the direction of the works was carried out by the first of the sons, Pedro, leaving Félix as director of the architectural ornamentation. Other important figures also took part in the works, such as Antonio Gil Gataón , who carved the portal and the columns , and the then official mason Diego Antonio Díaz , son-in-law of Pedro Romero and his successor later in the works of the Archbishopric as Senior Master of the same. .
The church was completed in 1702 and was solemnly inaugurated in February of that same year. In 1911 the church acquired the status of a parish seat .
Description of the property
Inside
The temple is organized internally according to a hall plan with three naves and a flat head. It has the particularity that it is the first case of a columned church from the 18th century, using beautiful Tuscan -style columns in red jasper with black jasper bases as internal supports.
The three ships have little difference in height. The central nave is covered with barrel vaults with lunettes ; with groin vaults the lateral ones, and with ribbed vaults the chapels of the heads and the dependencies of the feet of the temple.
At the foot of the church, and in the nave of the Epistle , the dependencies of the Brotherhood open up, and in them you can see a first large room where some of its processional paraphernalia is displayed. Thus, behind a large glass screen, part of its heritage appears, among which the complete mystery passage stands out, mounted in the center of the space, and on the sides, and protected by glass showcases, the canopy of the Virgin, the backstage , and other elements of value such as the processional sinelabe .
Inside the church, some important altarpieces stand out , distributed throughout the temple; among them:
The main altarpiece, in a clear baroque style and notable proportions, is made of carved and gilt wood and is dominated by the image of its owner, Our Lady of the O. Adorned with Solomonic columns and figures of angels, on the sides you can see the images of saints Bridget and Barbara.
On one side of the nave of the Gospel , a small altarpiece with a neoclassical flavor houses in its central body the image of Our Lady of the O of Glory , the original letific head of this church; a Virgin of Glory that is believed to have been created in the 16th century and is by an unknown author.
The most interesting of all is the altarpiece presided over by Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno and which is located in the Sacramental Chapel, located in the nave of the Epistle, and which is made entirely of large polychrome ceramic elements; a unique piece of its kind, of great value and beauty.
Outside
On the outside it has a square tower at the foot of the nave of the gospel, plastered after its restoration in almagra color. Completed in 1699, its body of bells is framed between Solomonic columns , serving as a precedent for what was later created in the Church of San Román , designed by José Tirado in 1704.
As stated in one of the tiles of this tower, it was restored in 1756 after the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755. For this reason, it was given the current spire with a bulbous profile covered in white and blue tiles with which it can be seen today. Probably designed by Pedro de Silva , it is topped by a wrought iron crown and cross.
The portal, carved by Gil Gataón in reddish marble, is structured on the basis of pilasters and rear pilasters of the Tuscan order. It is crowned with a broken pediment that includes in its center the shield of the Brotherhood supported by angels.
Brotherhoods
It is currently the headquarters of the aforementioned Brotherhood of the O , and its titular images, María Santísima de la O and Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno, are venerated inside.
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