After a few brush-strokes of history, let’s cross the threshold of the temple and begin our visit. Surely the majestic crucified Christ suspended in the transept of the temple has caught your attention. Next to it, there are model ships, a reminder of the innumerable marine votive offerings that covered the walls of the Sanctuary. These offerings were very frequent to show gratitude for favours granted by the Mother of God and our Mother.

Similarly, the reliefs corresponding to the fourteenth stations of the VIA CRUCIS are distributed on the side walls. Many times it seems that the accompaniment to Jesus in his Passion and Death ends in the tomb, forgetting that on the third day, Christ was resurrected and is alive among us until the end of the world.

As you can see, it is a temple with a single nave with a transept. In addition, it has a lavish main altarpiece and two altarpieces and several murals on the sides. To see them in detail, we invite you to sit on the front benches.

Let’s start with the altarpiece and mural located on the right arm of the transept. The altarpiece is presided over by Saint Barbara who is escorted by the carvings of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Saint Roch. This saint shows the sores on his leg and is accompanied by a dog that helped him in times of greatest need. This animal is a sign of providence and is always included in the iconography of the saint. The set is topped with a relief of The Visitation of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Saint Elizabeth.

Next to it, there is an interesting mural in bluish tones. Blue is the colour of Mary, a symbol of holiness, harmony and royalty. It represents a procession in honour of the Virgin of Guadalupe who, from above, contemplates and illuminates her children. Meanwhile, the lower part shows the scene corresponding to Juan Sebastian Elcano dictating his will in 1526, before he died on the Nao Victoria, to leave the donation for the Sanctuary.

On the opposite side of the transept, you can see the mural that represents the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe to the Indian Juan Diego on the Tepeyac hill in 1531. The set surrounds a beautifully framed canvas of the invocation of Guadalupe. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patron saint of America and is much loved in this fishermen’s city that is closely linked to the American continent.

Beside him, the arrowed effigy of Saint Sebastian presides over his altarpiece. Saint Sebastian was martyred for his conversion and following him to Jesus Christ. In the lateral niches we see the simple images of Saint Isidore the Labourer, patron saint of farmers, and a curious Jesus-Child.

The two lateral altarpieces come from the parish of Saint Mary of the Assumption and the Apple Tree and were brought up here in 1914, on the occasion of the restoration works of said parish temple.

It is time to contemplate the main altarpiece, made in 1748, in chestnut and walnut wood. It was donated by the inhabitant of Hondarribia Mr Gabriel Jose de Zuloaga, first Count of Torre Alta and Governor of Venezuela. It has a body and four baroque columns with Corinthian capitals. Between the columns are the images of Saint Ferdinand King, the Archangel Saint Gabriel who announced to Mary that she was going to be the Mother of God, Saint Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary and Saint Anthony of Padua. These last two are among the few saints who are represented with the Child Jesus in their arms.

In the central niche, the carving of the Virgin of Guadalupe (patron saint of Hondarribia), dated between the 14th and 15th centuries, presides over the complex. It is a beautifully polychrome image, with a striking mantle, red on the inside and gold on the outside with rhomboid ornaments. She is standing, carrying a stick in her right hand and the Child, who is blessing us, rests on the left arm of her Mother. Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the 7 Black Virgins of Gipuzkoa.

An original Holy Trinity tops the altarpiece, and in the lower part of this sculptural group, the tabernacle is located, where the greatest treasure that we can find in the temple, the Eucharistic Presence of the Lord in the Tabernacle, seems to go unnoticed.