A historic site without archives is like someone suffering memory loss.
What happened in the past, what events shaped its history? This is what happened with the archives of the Encarnacion Church of Marbella. References survive, but there is no memory based on facts, documents, printed data. Ignorance, fire, blind anger destroyed the history of centuries, the history of a people, the written - handwritten - history of a community. How was the Church built? What events took place there through the centuries?
What is known is that after the reconquest by the Spanish monarchs,
two parishes were established in Marbella - Santa Maria and San Jacobo.
The latter was thought to have been located in or near the Santiago chapel,
at the south of the Orange Square, today the headquarters one of the fraternities
which carries sacred images on thrones through the streets during Holy
week - the Cofradia del Cristo del Amor y de Maria Santisima de la Caridad.
At some unknown date, the Church of Santa Maria was given the name of La Encarnacion (the Incarnation). This is a common name, shared with a number of churches in nearby villages - Ojen, Yunquera, Alora, Alhaurin..but its widespread use is a mystery.
It is thought that the original church existed on the same site as the
present building, but was much smaller. When the paving stones were renovated
in 1982, several burials sites were found, which would indicate that the
first Christian cemetery was located inside the church, as well as parts
of a wall of the previous church of Santa Maria.
The belfry of the Encarnacion church has now become a symbol of Marbella,
its picture constantly on posters, postcards, programmes etc On its south
facade is the the coat of arms of Bishop Luis Fernandez of Cordoba with
the following inscription:
"Corduba quem genuit Malacae dat aethere Praesul. Construxit supor hoc Ludovicus opus anno MDCXVIII".
Bishop Don Luis Fernandez of Cordoba, born in that city and son of the Counts of Guadalcazar, after being bishop of Salamanca, was nominated to the seat of Malaga, remaining there from 11th May 1615 until 13th February 1625, when he was nominated to Santiago.
Until recent years, the Encarnacion church, with its majestic, beautiful
Baroque doorway, was the only parish, and the religious centre of the town
for Roman Catholics. Its spacious interior, with three naves, and high
dome over the high altar. A description from the 1920s states, "it
has many rather curious Baroque paintings, some of which are very beautiful,
and has some impressive carved wooden statues". But everything went
up in flames in 1936, during the civil war. Reconstruction took place in
1939, and slowly new paintings and images have been installed, some copied
from old photos. So it is once again a beautiful church, which has not
lost its historic atmosphere
Its magnificent organ, the Organo del Sol Mayor, not only serves the church's religious life, but the musical life of the town, and several concerts are organized there every year.
Father Echamendi is the parish priest of the Church of the Encarnacion.