Parorquia Nuestra Senora de la O - Ubrique - Andalusia

The flourishing and growth of the city of Ubrique in the middle of the 18th century created the need to build a larger church to spiritually provide for the population of Ubrique. Therefore, in 1773 , the current parish church was built under the patronage of Nuestra Señora de la O.

Nuestra Señora de la O, is an invocation of the Virgin Mary celebrated on December 18, commemorating the expectation of the birth of Mary and the birth of Jesus.

On the outside, the parish church has a facade with simple lines, where the bell tower stands out in the architectural whole, with an octagonal plan and surmounted by a spire of glazed tiles that form a blue and white carpet.

The plan of the basilica consists of three lengthwise naves , separated by sturdy Tuscan columns and semicircular arches. The three naves end in three chapels with semicircular domes. The central dome features a painting of the Holy Family , while the twelve apostles in the side domes are represented by paintings.

The sacrament chapel, located at the head of the right aisle or epistle aisle, is preceded in its altarpiece by the valuable statue of Nuestra Señora de la O , the work of the sculptor Jerónimo Hernández, which was made in 1575. This statue of great historical and artistic value comes from the town of Carmona, for whose church of El Salvador it was designed and where it remained for three and a half centuries.

Also noteworthy is the beautiful and dazzling silver-plated tabernacle, made by the workshops of Navas Parejo in Granada.

Another aspect of the heritage is the Fourteen Stations of the Cross, made of carved and polychrome wood with a lavish gilt frame.

Nuestra Senora de la O:

This is an invocation of the Virgin Mary celebrated on December 18, commemorating the expectation of the birth of Mary and the birth of Jesus.

It can be deduced from the text of the Tenth Council in Toledo that the feast was given the name of the Annunciation of Our Lady . Yet she soon came to be known as Our Lady of the O , because on the vespers of December 18 the Office of the Breviary begins with the words: O Sapientia ... veni!, and on the following days with expressions also beginning with the exclamation, O, in Latin: O Adonai, O Enmanuel, O Emmanuel;

Willem Vandenameele