Before going to sea, sailors would come and pray for their patron saint to watch over them and bring them home alive. But the church had bigger fish to fry than just watching over sailors. During the Spanish Civil War, the church was closed (probably a good thing considering churches were on the hit-list of the anti-government forces). Then came the Carlist Wars of succession and the church was turned into a military warehouse. But today it is back functioning as a Catholic Church and so very evidently showing itself as the Baroque creation it was intended to be. The construction took 13 years (1743-1756) but had been closed for long periods of time during its worried past. It is very dark inside. The church exterior was actually more interesting in that the emblems and coats of arms provided a look back over 300+ years. The lions holding the seal show a church (probably the first one that was destroyed before this one was built) and the river and a bridge. All is gone and this is what remains.

Austere looking from the outside, this Catholic church in the old town had an octagonal interior with dark wood altars on almost all 8 walls. I was so surprised at its bright simplistic interior which was so unlike most baroque Catholic churches of the 18th century. The main altar had niches showing St. Sebastian as its central figure surrounded by St. Laurance and St. Vincent; a crucified Christ was at the base. The figures in each altar were much larger than the wood carved religious figures I had seen in other Spanish churches. The figures in these altars were painted in different colors and the surrounding gilt trim was now vibrant after being restored in 2007. These sculptures were done by the renowned artist, Juan de Mena. There was no admission charge. The interior of the church was a photo stop for us. It is located by the river at the entrance to the old town and was near the metro station as well as the tram station by the Opera Theater.