The Church Sanctuary
Almería

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The Virgin of the Sea Square is presided over by the façade of the Church-Sanctuary of the same name, popularly known as the Temple of the Patron Saint. The church, run by the Dominican Fathers, is also known as St. Dominic´s Church. The convent of St. Dominic was founded in the 16th century, occupying the site of the present School of Arts and Artistic Trades and the Church of the Patron Saint.

The outer façade has a bell tower. After the serious damage suffered during the Spanish Civil War it was subsequently restored. It possesses two façades from the 19th century and, inside, has a hall which ends with a splayed altar and in the upper part a Lady Chapel decorated in the Baroque style, carried out by Jesús de Perceval after the Civil War.

The church contains an outstanding image of the Patron Saint of Almeria (the Virgin of the Sea), who appeared on the Beach of Torre Garcia on the 21st December, 1502 and officially proclaimed Patron Saint of Almeria in 1806. It is a polychrome sculpture from the 14thcentury, with a dark-skinned faced and cradling the Baby Jesus in her right arm. Her image is fervently worshipped by the inhabitants of Almeria.