Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas

In 1612 a pious woman Doña Juana de Barahona founded a religious community. It was a small house on Calle Hortaleza in Madrid. The women were known as the Maravillas. They guarded an image of the Virgin. This image was becoming very venerated in the capital. The Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas was born. In 1616 they moved to Calle de la Palma. This was near the hermitage of San Antón. It was then on the outskirts of Madrid. In 1624 they became Carmelite nuns. They adopted the rule of Carmel. Three nuns joined them from Alcalá de Henares in 1644. They assumed the functions of prioress subprioress and mistress of novices. The community became a monastery. In 1646 the institution was inaugurated again. In 1649 it came under the patronage of the Crown. King Felipe IV was a great devotee of the Virgin of the Maravillas. He paid for the construction of a new church. The old one was too small for the new cult to the virgin. The nuns experienced poverty and need. They relied on royal patronage. They preserved the convent and the church until 1868. That year the revolutionary Sexenio caused the disestablishment. They left the convent in 1869. They tried to return. They could not obtain the necessary permits. A new urban project was underway on the site. The convent was demolished. Plaza del Dos de Mayo was opened on the same site. The church remained. It became a parish in 1891. It was under the advocation of Saints Justus and Pastor. The nuns were installed in different houses and convents. They moved to the convent of Don Juan de Alarcón. They also stayed near a chapel on Paseo del Obelisco. They even lived in the convent of the Comendadoras of Santiago. Due to space or debt they left these residences. In 1902 Milagros Gozález and Saturnino Calderón helped the nuns. They donated land on Calle Príncipe de Vergara. A new convent and church were built there. The nuns still reside there living under the order’s rule. The Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas endures in a new form. Its history a testament to faith and resilience. A story of devotion and survival. The Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas’ legacy lives on.