The Magnificent Cathedral de Seville

One cannot just walk into the Cathedral unless attending a mass or service.  Visits are scheduled ahead of time.  We bought cultural visit (tourist) tickets weeks ago to get the limited availability and greatly reduced pricing.

This Cathedral also known as the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See, is undeniably an important, spectacular, and historical place.  A visit there is well worth any full-price ticket and a long wait for entry.  This cathedral is grand, opulent, decadent, and yet – beautiful. Virtually all the cathedrals we have seen on this journey are works of art!  This cathedral is huge and like the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, it has a tremendous gallery supported by marble columns but these are at least 15 feet in diameter.  It has 80 unique chapels and a grand choir.  It is the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world and the third-largest Church. Kings and Queens are crowned here and Christopher Columbus is buried here. After we strolled through the vast cathedra, we climbed to the top of the 342-foot-tall La Giralda, the bell tower.  There we enjoyed a 360-degree panoramic view of the entire city plus details of the elaborate façade of the Cathedral. The great church bells were just overhead. About the time Stan uttered, “Don’t ring the bells.” they rang! We nearly jumped out of our skin.

I hope not to sink into the marginal but when I entered this cathedral or enter any cathedral with monumental soaring alters, tall highly decorated arched ceilings, stained glass windows, dark stained wooden choir, numerous side chapels adorned with priceless paintings, sculptures and with “more than elaborate” decorative carvings often coated in gold and silver leaf, I am taken aback.  I’ve often read that churches and cathedrals are built to glorify God, thus the grandeur.  The heights, grand architecture, and steeples reach toward Heaven.  But somehow something nags at me.  I don’t understand.  For whom were these opulent places really created and why? Do they bring us closer to God? re they pleasing to God? Or were these religious halls built at the cost of sweat, brawn, and backs of the poor to portray wealth and power?  Who paid the price?  I may never know the answers but I keep thinking . . . I was taught that Jesus stood for the meek and the outcasts.   I know that God, Himself is said to look upon with favor those who are humble and understand their lowliness before Him. 

Gold, silver, jasper, riches?  Who do these grand cathedrals truly honor, revere, and celebrate?

Thank you for listening and now back to the story, while we were there, we asked questions of a lady at an information desk. As we got to know each other, she told us about an event, Dulces de los Conventos de Seville, Only a few tourists ever know that for only 6 days at Christmastime, nuns from cloisters in and around Seville make handmade candies and baked goods for sale.  Twenty-five years ago there were 41 cloisters in Seville, the most in the world but only 15 remain here today Their dulces are most often the sweets adored by families and presented on every Christmas table. Making and selling these delicacies are the primary way cloisters earn money for upkeep.  The lady said the nuns set up shop just off the courtyard outside the Alcazar from 3 pm to 6 pm on Saturday and from 10 am to 7 pm Sunday for the next 5 days.  Not wanting to miss a thing, especially a cookie sale, we put the event on our to-do list.

On Saturday we walked into the city to our favorite tapas place, had a wonderful meal of stewed venison and grilled artichoke, then set out to find the spot where the goodies were being sold.  We looked for nuns.  No nuns!  When we finally found the hall, instead of nuns, volunteers from Seville attended long tables of boxed candies, chocolates, cookies, breads, jams, and marmalades all homemade and labeled with the name of the treat, its ingredients, and the name of the cloister where it was made.  At one table a young girl about ten was helping her mom sell the items.  Stan asked her which was her favorite.  That sweet girl lighted up and delightedly she said, “Mi favorito is . . .” and pointed to the boxed block of chocolate.  Stan replied, “because this is tu favorito, I will buy it.”  We bought that chocolate and our share of cookies too!

Outside we sat on the marble bench at Plaza del Triunfo, opened the seal on the boxed chocolate, and enjoyed a bite.  We offered a piece to the man seated next to us. I don’t know how he could refuse, but he did.  I knew he regretted his answer.  Who would not want a morsel of chocolate made by a nun?