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date: 08 November 2024

Pilgrimage Centers and Relics in Catholic Spainlocked

Pilgrimage Centers and Relics in Catholic Spainlocked

  • María del Mar Doval TruebaMaría del Mar Doval TruebaIndependent Scholar
  • , and Barbara von BarghahnBarbara von BarghahnDepartment of Art History, George Washington University

Summary

The prominence of the Catholic faith in Spain is evident in the number of basilicas, cathedrals, churches, sanctuaries, monasteries, convents, pilgrimage sites, altarpieces, statues, as well as the municipal commemoration of feast days throughout the country. Spain boasts the third-highest number of major pilgrimage sites in the Catholic world after Jerusalem and Rome.

The season of Easter, extending from Holy Week through Corpus Christi (or Corpus Domini) provides several case studies in veneration and devotional artistic expression related to pilgrimage and relics in Spain. Corpus Christi, a feast celebrated sixty days after Easter, merits singular analysis. The feast utilizes images of the Salvador Eucharistica, an expression of the mystical transubstantiation of the sacred host defined by the Catholic Church. Resplendent altarpieces and devotional works of art in Spain contain many references to the popular veneration of the body and blood of Jesus, providing numerous examples of the themes, motifs, and artistic techniques commonly associated with Catholic devotional art and pilgrimage.

In addition, this article discusses the public adoration of relics related to the passion of Jesus Christ: the holy chalice of Valencia, the tablecloth of the Last Supper, and the Holy Shroud (Pañolón de Oviedo), and the sudarium of St. Veronica and its vernicles.

Subjects

  • Religion and Art

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