Convent of Santa Maria de Jesús de Cervera
Observant Franciscans of Cervera / S. Mariae de Iesu Cervariae
(Cervera, Segarra)
The foundation of a convent of Observant Franciscans in Cervera had already been requested by the city itself during the Provincial Chapter held at Santa Maria de Jesús in Balaguer, in 1486. At the same time, following the destruction in 1465 of the first Convent of Sant Francesc, a dispute arose between the Observants and the Conventuals regarding the rights over the remains of the house, which had been left in ruins.
In 1500, a ruling was issued in Barcelona in favor of the Conventuals, who had been the previous occupants. Nevertheless, in 1516 the Observants obtained permission from the city to build a new convent on the site of the old Sant Francesc house, located outside the city walls, in ruins, with its former community having relocated to the urban core of Cervera. The following year (1517), the community of Santa Maria de Jesús in Cervera already appears in a chapter held in Barcelona, and in 1521 Pope Leo X granted indulgences to those who visited the convent. At that time, both Franciscan branches coexisted in the city, each in its own independent convent.
In 1567, it was ordered that all Conventual monasteries be handed over to the Observants. As a result, the latter took possession of the convent located within the city walls, next to the Castelltort hospital; however, they remained in the extramural establishment and never occupied the newly acquired building. In 1592, they transferred it to the Minims of Sant Francesc de Paula. It appears that the convent of Santa Maria de Jesús was not affected by the Reapers' War; however, it was suppressed in 1821 during the Liberal Triennium and suffered serious damage. Despite this, activity continued there until 1835.
Above, Santa Maria de Jesús
On the left, Sant Francesc, after the Minims
Detail of Planta de la Ciudad de Cervera y de sus Contornos (1712)
Biblioteca Virtual de Defensa
Photo by Gaietà Barraquer published in Las casas de religiosos...
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- BOADAS, Agustí (2014). Els franciscans a Catalunya. Història, convents i frarades (1214-2014). Lleida: Pagès Ed.
- COLL, Fray Jayme Coll (1738). Chronica Seráfica de la santa provincia de Cathaluña. Barcelona: Imp. Herederos Juan Pablo y Maria Marti
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- MIRÓ, Ramon; VILA, Pep (2018). Festes, cuina i litúrgia en la celebració de Capítols Provincials dels frares de Sant Francesc a Cervera, anys 1448, 1501 i 1537. Blog: Vademècum
- SANAHUJA, Pedro (1959). Historia de la seráfica provincia de Cataluña. Barcelona: Ed. Seráfica
The convent of Santa Maria de Jesús is located to the east of Cervera's historic center