Brotherhood of Saint Teresa of Jesus

The Brotherhood of Saint Teresa of Jesus was established in 1985 thanks to the joint effort of the neighbourhood residents’ association, then chaired by Agustín Carrasco Jiménez, and the Carmelite community of the nearby monastery, led by Mother Magdalena de Santa Teresita. Its first Hermano Mayor was José Ramírez Olivares, who held the position until 1994.

The titular image, an anonymous work from the 19th century and slightly smaller than life-size, depicts the saint from Ávila in the episode of the Transverberation, when an angel pierces her heart with a lance as a symbol of divine love. It comes from the former church of the school of the Carmelitas de la Caridad on Calle Lázaro Martín, later passing to the convent of the discalced Carmelites. The image is usually shown wearing the traditional trim that marks her status as a Doctor of the Church.

In its early years, the brotherhood organised, together with the residents’ association, the neighbourhood festivities and religious services, incorporating from 1992 the traditional pregón which continues to be held today. The procession and the acts of worship in honour of the saint gradually became established as one of the most characteristic celebrations of the Santiago area.

The corporation went through a period of renewal from 2006 onwards, the year in which the image was moved to the Iglesia Parroquial de Santiago Apóstol, the brotherhood’s new canonical seat. Since then, significant heritage improvements have been carried out, including the creation of a new throne unveiled in 2007 and the renewal of the image’s vestments in 2016.

That same year, Jesús Jiménez Ortiz took over the presidency of the brotherhood, being re-elected in 2021. In 2017 the corporation unveiled a carved wooden worship canopy made by Jesús A. Morillo Marín. The image of Saint Teresa currently presides over the former altar of Pentecost, at the foot of the gospel nave of the Santiago church.

The brotherhood’s canonical seat is the Iglesia Parroquial de Santiago Apóstol. Among its main events are the pregón, the procession held on the Saturday closest to the feast day of Saint Teresa and the solemn mass on 15 October, the feast day of the saint who is a Doctor of the Church.