Convento de Madre de Dios

Today I went to Seville's oldest and most interesting church at least from my opinion, because I'd never been to another one quite like it. The nuns devote all their time to praying for the souls of society, and the remaining 10% of their time to making dulces (sweets, muffins etc) to sell to support the convent. They never leave, and they don't sleep because they task of praying for all of us is one of enormous proportions. Also it's the burial site of Christopher Columbus' family, and Hernado Cortez's as well. The convent is enormous, and where 200 nuns once lived and thrived, only 12 remain to care for the church and pray for society. Although their goals are ambitious, and incorportate everyone, they far from try to impress their beliefs upon you and welcomed all of us (most not of the catholic persuasion) to see their church and share with us. Nonetheless they spend all day praying and most don't like to talk or have lost most of their muscular ability to because they never do, and one is over 90 years old!

Also their muffins (Magdalenas - also the name of my professor), are amazing and toady we sampled all their food and it was super good. They're is certainly something to be said about hand made with the most organic most pure food their is, made by the hands of nuns and imbued with their love for people and God. Whether or not you believe in what they have to say, or believe in their religion particularly, they are truly exemplars of devotion, love and selflessness. After all they devote their entire lives to (in their eyes) save as many others as they can.

Their patron saint is San Martin (Saint Martin), who is the first African American saint. He was famous because although he spent all his time working, cleaning and doing as much as he could to help others without taking time to help himself, if someone came up to him and asked he would always give them a piece of bread out of his robes. He is considered a miracle, because he never had money to buy bread, and he was always out helping people so there was never time to sneak him bread, and thus it was considering a miracle of God that he was placed to give bread to those in need. It's quite a touching story, and during the poorer years in Spain he became quite popular because it's said his broom (if you put a blessed one in your house) will ensure that you are to never go a day without bread if need be.

A very interesting place, and it's one of the few places i've ever been that hasn't ever had even the slightest restoration. And it was built in 1492!! It was originally a synagogue prior to that (which you cant ell cause it's not shaped like a corss), and when they renovated it into a church it was done by muslims. The end result, a synagogue, with the design-work and inspiration derived from Islam, all in the name of Christianity where one group of dominican nuns has taken complete control of it for over 500 years!

This place is crazy....