The convent-church of San José in Caravaca de la Cruz

The convent of the Carmelites in Caravaca was founded by Santa Teresa de Avila in 1576

The baroque 16^th-century convent church of San José stands on the Calle Mayor in the centre of Caravaca de  la Cruz, and was founded in 1576 during the reforming fervour of the Carmelite Order which owed much to Santa Teresa de Jesús, who at the time was still alive. However, Sister Teresa was unable to attend the founding ceremony in person due to unexpected problems which cropped up in Sevilla as she was preparing to make the journey from Beas de Segura.

The founding of the convent and church

Nowadays the location might be central, but during the 16th century it was outside the city walls of Caravaca, and the new religious establishment occupied an area on which there were previously a row of houses and a small church dedicated to the Padre de Jesús on the road to Andalucía.

The history of the convent of San José de las Madres Carmelitas Descalzas begins in March 1575, when four young women from noble families attended a Mass conducted in the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús by a Jesuit priest and vowed not to return to their homes until Teresa de Ávila decided to found a convent belonging to the reformed Carmelite order in the city of Caravaca. In effect they staged a “sit-in” in the house of one Catalina de Otálora, who offered them shelter and support and helped them to communicate their wish to Teresa in the convent of San José de Ávila.

The saintly reformer acceded to the petition and began to plan a journey to Caravaca, but this never materialized and instead she sent a formal letter outlining her instructions to the Prioress of Caravaca, Ana de San Alberto: this letter, dated 24^th November 1575, is still kept in the local historical Archive. Following this the bulk of the preparatory work was carried out by Catalina de Otálora and Rodrigo de Moya, the father of one of the four women whose determination led to the founding of the Order in Caravaca.

This was no easy task, and one initial problem was that the government of King Felipe II specified in its permission for the founding that the convent should come under the control of the Order of Santiago. Teresa de Ávila was not satisfied with this, and repeated her demand for it to be controlled directly by the Order of the Virgen del Carmen, a request which was granted prior to the official founding ceremony on 1^st January 1576.

Construction then began, although slowly, with the acquisition of neighbouring houses and the church dedicated to San José in 1589.

The result is a three-floor building on Calle Mayor, although the lower floor is below ground level on the street side and opens out only onto the garden behind, containing 26 rooms to house members of the Order distributed around a central patio and the convent church. This church was originally built in the 17^th century but additional decorative elements were added in the 18^th.

This church backs on to the rest of the convent complex and the two areas are joined via the choir. The rich decoration is the most striking feature, but the building was sold by the Carmelite Order in 2004 and the religious works of art were removed and taken to a new location in Mazarrón. However, the magnificent altar screens can still be seen, as can the organ and an unusual confessional decorated with small reflective panels.

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