"The As Lagoas neighborhood , originally made up of buildings built mostly under the cooperative regime and by social housing, was initially made up of different types of inhabitants (merchants, teachers, and the military) and prominent companies, such as the newspaper La Región , the Coren agri-food cooperative and the Renfe railway company , the railway being located at the entrance to the neighborhood, which in 2009 housed around 4,500 inhabitants.
The temple, located in the current heart of the city's university campus, was built in 1964 by order of Bishop Ángel Temiño Saiz, when the campus had not yet been erected, separating the Parroquia de la Asunción from the Parroquia de Santo Domingo in 1966. The existence of this church initially led to the question of whether or not it was convenient to build the Parroquia de Cristo Rey (built in the first half of the 1980s) due to the proximity of both, the two being sanctuaries located less than 400 meters away.
The temple, with a simple rectangular plan, presents an austere decoration according to the postulates of the Second Vatican Council and the minimalist aesthetic tending to the simplification characteristic of the 1960s. The most outstanding element is a carving of Our Lady of the Assumption located behind the altar, which appears with open arms and her face directed to heaven, with two angels at her feet who help her ascend. This image is characterized by having straight lines and marked angles in the clothes as well as a polychrome in pastel tones, typical in religious imagery since the middle of the 20th century.. The wall behind the carving of the Virgin is covered with veneered panels in light wood and finished off on the ceiling by a large octagonal structure on which is a skylight that provides light to the altar.
The nave of the temple stands out for its luminosity, provided in part by stained glass windows with religious symbols located at the top of the walls of the Gospel and the epistle, as well as for its practical absence of ornaments, since the only decoration are some panels installed in 2010, executed by the artist Chema Dapena at the initiative of the architect Xan Rodríguez, which show images of Christ during the Stations of the Cross , taken from the film directed by Mel Gibson The Passion of Christ (2004). For its part, to the right of the entrance is the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, which consists of a small rectangular room with an altar and a simple tabernacle and images of theSacred Heart and the Immaculate Conception to the left and right, highlighting on the left wall images of Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Joseph .
Regarding the facade, it is characterized by its simplicity, the most striking element of the structure being the bell tower, which has dark panels with crosses on each of its four faces, also highlighting on the entrance door a stained glass window with the image of the carving of the Virgin of the Assumption that presides over the altar.
In October 2008, more than forty years after its inauguration, an intense restoration work began in the temple, for which it was required that it remain closed to the public for seven months, having initiated the procedures for the reform in 2006. 6The repairs carried out, mainly aimed at correcting the damage present in the structure due to the passage of time, consisted in the correction of leaks as well as the deficient insulation of the roof, for which the installation of a zinc roof was required (placed by means of the standing seam system), also having a false vaulted ceiling of plaster veneered in oak wood, continuous perimeter with a meeting pit with the side walls and a drawer in the tribune area, in the central nave, and continuous stepped smooth plaster plates with indirect perimeter lighting in the aisles. Similarly, improvements were made to the skylight and a new dome was placed over the altar. For its part,Holy Spirit previously hung on the main altar. Regarding the bell tower, the gaps present in it were covered with zinc sheets, also making improvements to the floor, where the pavement was renewed by means of a combination of laminated oak wood and limestone flooring. The work was also intended to improve the thermal and acoustic conditions as well as the aesthetics of the temple, whose new design corresponds to Xan Rodríguez. The restoration, with a cost initially estimated at 350,000 euros, ended up amounting to 655,000, of which in 2010 the Bishopric of Orense had already assumed 196,000, while 30,000 were carried out by the deputation and 81,000 of the parishioners themselves, From whom an indicative contribution of 200 euros had been requested, having initially collaborated a total of 419 families compared to the estimated 1000.
After the end of the works, the church reopened its doors in May 2009, being the walls of the sanctuary blessed on January 24, 2010 in the presence of various political authorities during a ceremony officiated by the bishop of the city."
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This stained glass located on the façade is the image of the Virgin of the Assumption, the same as the sculpture on the altar. It looks like something out of an avatar.
Before it could be seen from the inside, now with the reforms and a false ceiling, it is only accessible through the room where they give catechesis, although the truth is best to see it from the outside.