Church of San Francisco - Jerez de la Frontera - Andalusia

This church was part of the vanished Convent of San Francisco, built outside the walls of the medieval city.

It was built in 1771 on the site of the previous church , which was demolished. It was completed in 1787. It has its origins in the conquest of Jerez by King Alfonso X the Wise and , along with Santo Domingo, were the first two monasteries to be built outside the walls.

The main facade of the original church has been preserved, the Chapel of the Vows, where the inhabitants of Jerez defended and swore the conceptual dogma, and the Plateresque door leading to the choir.
Inside the church are the remains of Queen Blanca de Bourbon (1339-1361), wife of Peter I of Castile (Pere el Wrede). The tomb was created by the Catholic Monarchs who, on a visit to Jerez, decreed that it should be a royal burial. The surviving inscription on the tombstone reads: "Consecrated to Christ, the Most Benefactor and Almighty, was Doña Blanca, Queen of Spain, daughter of the Bourbons, descendant of the august line of the Kings of France, fairest in body and manners, but as young virgin, she was murdered on the orders of King Pere the Cruel, her husband. Health year 1361. She was 25 years old" (inscription stone, Blanca de Castilla).

Countless are the visits to the Church by the Seraphic Father, as well as the prayers to Sant Antoni, Sant Jude, Santíssimo Crist de la Llum and the protagonists of the Hermandad de las Cinco Llagas, Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Vía Crucis and María Santísima de la Esperanza, held in procession early in the morning of Good Friday.

Of particular note is the altarpiece of the Annunciation, a work by Francisco Camacho de Mendoza.
At Christmas , the Franciscan Brotherhood installs a modest nativity scene in the Chapel of the Vows so that anyone who wishes can adore Baby Jesus and offer gifts of food, toys or donations.
"Through the smile of the Child Jesus, your gifts will reach those most in need."
This church is the canonical seat of the Hermandad de las Cinco Llagas , which celebrates its penitential procession at sunrise on Good Friday of Holy Week in Jerez.

Willem Vandenameele