The Capuchin order arrived in León in the 13th century, but before we start with this audioguide, we would like to clarify the small mix up that there is with the Capuchins, who apart from giving the name to a delicious coffee, truth is that in fact, we are dealing with a medieval religious order, founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Yes, the same Italian Saint that called everyone ¨brothers¨ even the wolfs.
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The Capuchin order arrived in León in the 13th century, but before we start with this audioguide, we would like to clarify the small mix up that there is with the Capuchins, who apart from giving the name to a delicious coffee, truth is that in fact, we are dealing with a medieval religious order, founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Yes, the same Italian Saint that called everyone ¨brothers¨ even the wolfs.
What’s very clear is that the original building, very deteriorated with the passing of the centuries, had to be substituted for the one you are now looking at. Of a Neoclassical style, it was finished by the architect Francisco de Rivas in the year 1791. From that date the building and especially its residents, went through many adventures, to put it mildly.
To start with, the French Revolution which brought the war and, over all, it brought Napoleon who even brought more trouble… It was the winter of 1808 when León and the whole North of the Peninsula went through, on top of all, a tremendous and historical blizzard that filled up the roads with death, hungry and desperate Spanish and British soldiers. The British were the most dangerous, since as they advanced towards Galicia under the command of General Sir John Moore, they killed, raped and looted everyone and everything that was on their way. In that white hell, with the roads covered with snow and impossible to get through, there was no friends, no allies not even a General, it was “every man for himself”.
However, the convent was luckier, since a certain Marquis of Romana maintained in here his headquarters, this gave some order and tranquillity to the city, and is how this church survived the passage of the hungry and desperate people that were looking for refuge on their way to Galicia and Portugal.
After the war with Napoleon, new wars came, and with them, new revolutionary ideas, until 1836, when the then minister Mendizabal decreed that all religious orders that were not of known public utility be suppressed and his assets passed into the public domain. That was the case of the Capuchins, and therefore, of this convent.
However, in 1882 the Capuchin order was allowed to re-occupy the building…and that’s the way things remain to this day…
