CHURCH OF SAN JUAN DE SAHAGÚN

30 minutes

The Church of San Juan de Sahagún is one of the best examples of historicist architecture in Salamanca. It was built between 1891 and 1896 on the site of the old Romanesque parish of San Mateo, at the initiative of the Bishop of Salamanca, Fray Tomás de Cámara y Castro.

The building harmoniously combines Neo-Romanesque and Neo-Gothic elements, styles widely used in late 19th-century religious architecture. The initial project was designed by the architect Joaquín de Vargas y Aguirre, and the tower and part of the ornamentation were completed by José María Basterra. On the facade, two large bronze high reliefs by Aniceto Marinas stand out, representing the two most popular miracles of the saint: the Miracle of the Yellow Well and the Pacification of the Factions.

The church is dedicated to the patron saint of Salamanca, Saint John of Sahagún (1430-1479). The saint lived in the city during the 15th century: in his youth, he was a student at the Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé and, later, he entered as a friar in the Augustinian Convent of Salamanca. He was canonized in 1690 by Pope Alexander VIII and, since 1868, he has been venerated as the patron saint of the city, whose feast day is celebrated every June 12.

After his death, Saint John was buried in the Convent of San Agustín, but when it was destroyed during the War of Independence, his relics were moved to the Cathedral. Today, they rest in a silver urn in the main altar of the New Cathedral, alongside those of Saint Thomas of Villanueva. In the late 19th century, Father Cámara, also an Augustinian friar and Bishop of Salamanca, promoted the revival of devotion to the patron saint of Salamanca: he wrote the first biography of the saint and promoted the construction of a new temple on the site where the old parish of San Mateo had stood.

From ancient times, the city has preserved the memory of Saint John in its toponymy. The Plaza de los Bandos recalls his role as a mediator in the clashes between the noble factions of the time. The streets of Tentenecio and Pozo Amarillo evoke two of his most famous miracles: the first recalls how, with the words “¡Tente, necio!” (Stop, fool!), he managed to stop a runaway bull; the second commemorates the rescue of a child who had fallen into a well, when everyone thought he was dead. Each year, the City Council performs a floral offering before the relief commemorating this last miracle on Calle del Pozo Amarillo.

The saint's presence is also perceived in other corners of Salamanca. In the ruins of the Botánico was the Convent of San Pedro de los Agustinos, where he lived and was buried. An image of him can be seen on the side door of the church of San Sebastián, the old chapel of the Colegio de Anaya, where he studied and served as chaplain. In Calle Traviesa, a bas-relief with his figure is preserved, and one of the medallions in the Plaza Mayor is dedicated to his memory, a testament to the deep devotion the city has professed to him throughout the centuries.

Salamancan tradition holds that Saint John delivered his last sermon in the church of San Blas. It is said that a young man, after hearing him, decided to abandon his lover, the Marchioness Isabel. She, resentful of the rejection, allegedly ordered the poisoning of the saint as revenge for having lost her lover.

Religious building: Churches, convents, mosques, synagogues, and temples

Church

Free visit price

Individual - 0.00 €

Joaquín de Vargas y Aguirre designed a temple with three stepped naves, separated by pillars with attached columns, a prominent transept in plan, and an octagonal main chapel. The main chapel is elevated above the rest of the temple by stairways and features Father Cámara's coat of arms on the gable. It is covered with ribbed vaults over which the iron framework, made in Moneo's local workshops, is situated. In the central nave, which is higher than the side naves, windows were opened, and above the side naves, a tribune with pointed arches housing two geminated arches was placed.

The exterior of the temple stands out for its Neo-Romanesque character. The main facade is divided into three sections separated by buttresses. The central section is organized into four superimposed bodies: a narrow, elongated door with a pointed arch; a band with blind arcading and a rose window with a cross inscribed in a circle. Flanking the rose window are two large bronze high-reliefs made by Aniceto Marinas. They narrate two of the most popular miracles of Saint John of Sahagún -the “Miracle of the Yellow Well” and “The Pacification of the Factions”- which give their names to a street and a square in the city center. The facade is crowned by a central tower topped with an imposing octagonal spire. The spire is flanked by small temples supported on columns, a reinterpretation of those on the dome of the Torre del Gallo and very similar to those crowning the towers of the Basilica of Covadonga.

The church houses works of notable artistic and devotional value inside, many of them originating from the ancient temples of San Mateo, Santa Eulalia, and San Boal:

Three magnificent 18th-century carvings representing Saint Francis, Saint Anthony of Padua, and Saint Diego of Alcalá stand out in the first chapel on the left. They surely come from the disappeared convent of San Antonio el Real. The Magdalena and the Virgin of Great Sorrow likely also originate from the same convent.
The baptismal chapel preserves an Italian painting of Our Lady of Good Counsel, a gift from Father Cámara, and the baptismal font from the church of San Mateo.
The Christ of Consolation presiding over the main altar also comes from San Mateo.
The image of San Boal, recently attributed to Alonso Berruguete or his circle, and that of the Virgin and Child, come from the church of San Boal.
Beneath the main altar is a small reliquary with relics of Saint John of Sahagún.

In the exterior of the temple you can see:

Next to the apse of the temple, a bronze sculpture on a granite pedestal shows Saint John of Sahagún in an Augustinian habit, in the act of preaching. It is the work of sculptor Valeriano Hernández (2002).
A marble plaque dedicated to Father Cámara in 1947 on the occasion of the centenary of his birth.

More information

Address

CALLE TORO, 78 SALAMANCA 37002

Opening hours

Monday to Sunday:

CHURCH OF SAN JUAN DE SAHAGÚN

Free visit price

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