Mare de Déu de Jesús

Santa Eulària des Riu, Ibiza · the "gem pictorial" of the island

In the people of Jesus, which takes its name from it, the Mare de Déu of Jesus presides over a Gothic altarpiece considered the greatest pictorial jewel of Ibiza; a devotion born of the Franciscan fervor and later guarded by the Dominicans.

Origin and history

The first news of the temple dedicated to the Mare de Déu of Jesus is 1466. At the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century there is the presence of Franciscan friars, who explain the advocation and the great Gothic altarpiece, a work of first order of the Iberian heritage, held by the "pictórica d'Eivissa" and related stylistically to the Valencian production of the Osona circle. In 1555 an organ was already mentioned that needed repair, a sign of a continued and solemn worship, and on December 11, 1580 the church gave itself to the Dominican Fra. Miquel Vilaplana to build a convent, moving from Franciscan custody to Dominican.

In addition to the Gothic altarpiece, the interior retains an image of the Virgin of the 16th century and other later works. The centrality of the altarpiece and of the image has generated a devotion very close to the temple itself: the people of Jesus are so identified with their Virgin that the town takes its name from it. The main feast, on 8 September, with popular celebrations before the church, highlights its character as a local patron deeply rooted in the civil and religious life of the people.

Formal patronage and canonical coronation: not found in the sources.