The Salesians, settled in Vigo since 1894 , arrived in Orense thanks to the work of David Touriño, who managed to bring several brothers to the city between 1904 and 1910 , where they occupied a piece of land on the banks of the river Miño as well as the existing buildings in the same (initially destined and enabled for the establishment of a tanning factory), donation by Carlota Vázquez Sarmiento made in 1897 with the consent of her husband and other heirs. Constituted school the 21 as November 1910, In principle, the institution was used to offer a service that had not existed until then in the city, so in 1911 an agricultural training module began to be taught given the importance of the agricultural sector in Orense at that time, being the center known as the Nuestra Señora de los Remedios agricultural colony. Forty students in basic education during 1911 - 1912 , the complex was renamed Colonia Maria Auxiliadora; later it would be called the María Auxiliadora Institute and, finally, the María Auxiliadora School.
Due to economic problems and the precariousness of the facilities, the community of Salesian brothers considered on multiple occasions the possibility of leaving the city, especially in 1915 , the 1920s (a serious fire destroyed the facilities in 1925 , although they they were rebuilt with funds obtained thanks to a popular subscription) 1 and 1931 , years after the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic , characterized, among other aspects, by anti-clerical sentiment and attacks on religious buildings and institutions . Despite the convulsive political changes and the Civil War, the school continued to be operational, taking place important events in the 1940s such as the request to teach a baccalaureate (the first year being that of 1944 - 1945 ) and the erection of a new complex of buildings for the school, being the first of them the boarding school, opened in 1949 although it had already been in operation since 1917 . 1 Regarding the church, the works for the construction of the temple, whose plans, approved by Renato Ziggiotti (who would eventually become rector major), were prepared by the director of the José Saburido school with the help of the Salesian brother José Peitado , they started the7 of November of 1950 , was inaugurated on the same 23 of maypole in 1954 and celebrated on the next day , a pontifical Mass presided by Marcelino Olaechea, archbishop of Valencia , in collaboration with the Bishop of Orense Angel Temiño Saiz and the Bishop of Tuy José López Ortiz, although the parish would not be created until January 31 , 1983 In 1955 the school had the honor of being considered a work of social interest by the government, celebrating the golden anniversary of the Salesian stay in the city in 1961 , which were presided over by the cardinalFernando Quiroga Palacios , and the Diamond Jubilee in 1986 .
The façade stands out for its sobriety and simplicity, according to the aesthetics of modern temples, although it shows classic architectural features, such as a large door in a semicircular arch composed of four archivolts with jamb and capital . Two large windows also topped with a semicircular arch stand out, as well as a rose window over the entrance door, the clock and the bell tower also standing out. In front of the building is the Plaza de Don Bosco , presided over by a stone image of the priest accompanied by several children.
Regarding the interior, the temple houses three naves and has dimensions of 54 meters long, 17 wide and 13 high, which makes it the one with the largest capacity in the diocese. The altar contains a gilded altarpiece in neo- Gothic style which shows the pictorial images of the twelve apostles divided into two groups of six by the tabernacle, crowned in turn by a crucifix. For its part, the upper half of the transept wall houses a niche dominated by a larger-than-life sculpture of María Auxiliadora, holder of the parish, highlighting the presence of a door at the back of the niche which allows access to it. To complete the ensemble, on each side of the image of the Virgin there are two stained glass windows that provide light to the altar. In total, the temple has 30 stained glass windows (the work of the Vigo firm La Belga ) which mostly show the cross of Christ with Eucharistic symbols in the center, although in the apse you can see images of San José and San Francisco de You go out .
In the walls of the presbytery there are two altarpieces of a single body and three streets that, like the altar, have golden polychrome and neo-Gothic style: the one on the left is presided over by a carving of the Sacred Heart of Jesus decorated with motifs. florals that replace the absence of images on both sides, while the one on the right is presided over by an image of Don Bosco, with a statue of Santo Domingo Savio on the left and a sculpture of Santa María Mazzarello on the right . Next to this last altarpiece there is a panel with fifteen paintings, most of them scenes from the life of Jesus : Annunciation ; Birth of Jesus ;Presentation in the Temple ; Baptism ; Transfiguration ; Resurrection of Lazarus ; Palm Sunday ; The Last Supper ; Death on the Cross ; Descent into hell ; Ascension and Coming of the Holy Spirit (the other three scenes correspond to Saint George , Saint Michael and Saint Thomas ). In the nave, which has access to the school on the gospel side, three other images stand out: on the side of the epistle a small carving of Saint Ritaand, on both sides of the entrance door, a crucified Christ on the left and a statue of Saint Anthony of Padua on the right. Next to the access door there are two large bronze panels in dark tones with images in relief: the one on the right shows the Baptism of Jesus (in front of which there is a simple baptismal font), while the one on the right on the left, the work of Xosé Cid,shows a Christ the redeemer guarded on both sides by the faces of various Salesian martyrs.
Every year the parish hosts a novena in honor of the Virgen de los Remedios , whose chapel is located a few meters from the church. For years the Salesian college kept a carving of the Virgin inspired by the one located in the chapel; After a fire in which the image of the Temple of the Remedies was destroyed, the Parish of María Auxiliadora gave the carving that it guarded so that it could be venerated in the sanctuary, receiving instead a new image elaborated in 2014 and originally destined to replace the statue lost in the disaster.
(
visit link)