⏯ FAÇADE
In the heart of the ancient Kingdom of Navarre, a land full of charm and ancient history, stands the Monastery of Santa María la Real de La Oliva. It is a relevant spiritual enclave since its foundation at the end of the 12th century and one of the most famous sites of the Cistercian Order on the peninsula. For all these reasons, the visit allows us to perceive the greatness of a transcendental architecture in history and medieval art.
“Since its foundation, the Monastery of Santa María de la Oliva has been a spiritual reference for the Navarrese people, sustenance of their faith, testimony of devotion and refuge of peace”
Before entering the abbey temple we will contemplate its façade. It is imposing in its simplicity and at the same time varied in the styles that make it up. The sober and original coverof the sacred enclosure is framed by a pointed arch with twelve finely crafted archivolts; with little flowers on the inside and diamond points on the outside. The arch rests on six free-standing columns and another six carved into the wall, with capitals of vegetal content. Meanwhile, on the door jambs we see two capitals with the figures of two abbots. The mullion is flattened and has a similar ornamentation, although it intersperses friendly human faces that seem to observe the visitor. The entire complex denotes a period of completion later than the rest of the temple; between the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century.
Inside two concentric circles of the tympanum with a semicircular shape, we see the bas-relief of the Agnus Dei carrying a cross with a carved banner. Meanwhile, a Chi Rho with the acronym Alpha, Omega and Soter – Beginning, End and Saviour – occupies the outer part. At the top, a rooster is represented, a symbol of the dawn of the resurrection and an eight-pointed star that alludes to light. At the bottom, a dragon and a winged griffin symbolize the triumph of Christ as described in the Apocalypse. Outside the circles, at the top, are the figures of the sun and the moon that represent the divinity and humanity of Christ, respectively. At the bottom, to the right, there is a Pantocrator surrounded by the tetramorphs -the symbols of the four evangelists-; and to the left, the image of the Virgin Mary with the Child on her lap and a smaller figure that could be Saint Joseph.
O beata solitudo, or sola beatitudo.
“ Oh blissful solitude, oh solitary bliss”
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
In the highest part of the cover, we see a specially decorated eaves. The figures that make it up are from a previous period, reused from an old Romanesque building. There are twenty-seven modillions reminiscent of the Cluny school. The pairs are thirteen and can tell the history of music. Some figures are worthy of attention; The Annunciation, the wheel of fortune, fights between men and beasts and, the most exceptional; a Crucified Christ crowned with a Byzantine diadem and whose arms are supported by angels.
In the tympanum at the top of the façade, there is a small oculus, which in another era could have been a large rose window, but which was replaced in 1536. A 40-meter-high Renaissance tower crowns the façade. It was built in 1640 by the master Juan de Irún, while Ángel del Águila was abbot.
Turning our gaze to the lower part, the two rose windows, of Romanesque-Burgundian inspiration, that flank the doorway and allow the lighting of the side naves of the temple that we are now going to access are worth mentioning. They are probably the first of their style made in the Iberian Peninsula.
“The Monastery of La Oliva, a haven of silence and prayer, is one of the great cultural and spiritual treasures of our country, its abbey church being an outstanding example of Cistercian architecture in the Iberian Peninsula”
⏯ TEMPLE ACCESS
After these artistic scraps, it is time to cross the threshold andaccess the abbey church to tour this monumental temple. It is one of the most genuine examples of Cistercian architecture.
We are at the back of the sacred enclosure, on the high platform of the internal staircase, with eight steps above the level of the temple. It is a perfect viewpoint to admire the imposing monumentality of the temple. From this point, the vision is magnified. Austere and monumental, harmonious and attractive. Let us contemplate its grandeur. It is a simple majesty that has surely captivated us from the first moment.
Its plan is a basilica with a Latin cross, with three naves of six sections. The central nave is taller. The transept has five chapels; the central one where the presbytery is located is semicircular, and the other four are rectangular.
The entire temple is an accumulation of the mystical concepts of its creators that penetrate our senses. Its dimension is faithful to the geometric canons of the Augustinian aesthetic of number and proportion of form: 74 meters in length, the transept measures half – 37 meters – and the height of the central nave is half – 18.5 meters-.
“…which does not seek any other type of imposition other than charity, nor any other benefit other than the spiritual and temporal good of all the brothers.”
Caritatis letter-Founding Decree of the Cistercian Order- Saint Stephen Harding. 1119
⏯ TEMPLE NAVES
After this first moment, we begin our tour to delve into the countless details offered by the imposing sobriety of the temple.
Before moving towards the head of the temple, we see to our right, at the foot of the Epistle nave, the Romanesque tomb with twelve trefoiled arches. This tomb was intended for the Navarrese monarch Sancho VII The Strong, although he was finally buried in the Collegiate Church of Roncesvalles. In front is the sculptural group with the figures of the Virgin girl and her parents, Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. It is the work of Navarrese sculptor Ramón Arcaya. In the opposite nave is the 12th century tomb of the Almoravid family. It has some sculpted columns in the corners of its head and a shield of this relevant Navarrese lineage. On the side wall of the left nave or Gospel nave, are the fourteen stations of the simple and austere VIA CRUCIS of theabbey. Many times it seems that the accompaniment to Jesus in his Passion and Death ends in the tomb and it is forgotten that the Cross is not a defeat, but rather the prelude to the definitive triumph over death that will come with his Resurrection. VIA LUCIS
“This is my finest and most interior philosophy, to know Jesus, and Jesus crucified.”
About the Song of Songs . Sermon 43,4- Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
As we see, the aesthetics of the abbey church faithfully conform to the Cistercian norm, typical of pointed or Gothic art. It was a new architectural modality of which the Cistercian was a faithful disseminator and perfecter over time. The pointed arches that determine the cross vaults rest on twelve superb pillars. These cruciform pillars have two thick columns attached to each of their faces and another thinner one on each knuckle. This simplicity is only lost in the two semicircular arches of the first section of the transept, which suggest that the construction of the temple began in this sector around the year 1164.
The decoration of the keystones of the vaults of the first sections stands out, where the Eagle of Navarre is sculpted, the emblem of King Sancho of Navarre who was closely linked to the monastery; an Agnus Dei, a face of Christ Majesty and a cross of the Order ofCalatrava that highlights the close ties with the Navarrese Monastery of Fitero.
The capitals of the columns are very austere, but beautiful in their simplicity and variety. They are decorated with plant motifs and some small balls typical of Cistercian art. The only exception are the two capitals near the door where there are faces of mermaids and grotesque human figures. It was an area intended for the faithful and where the monks no longer had access.
“Authentic and true charity, that which comes from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith, is that by which we love the good of our neighbour as our own. Because charity converts souls and also makes them free.”
Treatise on the love of God. XII,34 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
⏯ SACRISTY
Located in the right side nave, is the sacristy known as “New”, because it is the last room to be built. It was erected between 1596 and 1607, under the command of Abbot Gaspar Gutiérrez. The entrance doorway is classical in style, topped with a triangular pediment. In it, the six reliefs carved on the doors stand out, narrating different episodes in the life of Saint Bernard. The interior of the space has a quadrangular floor plan, covered by the Mannerist style false dome in which figures of angels and vases can be seen. Under the rectangular windows that illuminate the sacristy, the front wall is dominated by the effigy of Jesus Crucified framed in a niche. Three paintings by monastic authors adorn the rest of the walls. “Saint Joseph with the boy Jesus” and “Saint Robert collects the Cistercian church from the hands of the Child Jesus supported by his Mother” are works from the late 19th century carried out by Fray Cesáreo de Vegas. The “Immaculate Conception” is the work of Fray Esteban, a monk from La Oliva, made in the 20th century.
⏯ TRANSEPT AND ABSIDIAL CHAPELS
After visiting the neo-Gothic style choir, we arrive at the transept made up of five sections. The majestic transept is covered with an octagonal Romanesque dome that shelters the bells that call and accompany the monks in their daily liturgy.
The head of the temple is formed by the central apse flanked by four chapels of similar execution, a square section with a cross vault and in the background, the original openings divided by a mullion. In these chapels and in the transept there is practically all the temple’s imagery. In the first of the chapels, located to our right, we discover the effigy of the great promoter of the Cistercian Order, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. In the next one, we see the effigy of Saint Robert of Molesmes, one of the founders of Cistercian. Occupying a niche located in the right wall, next to the access to the cloister, we see the carving of Saint Josephwith the Baby Jesus.
In the first chapel on the left side, there is the image ofSaint Stephen Harding, one of the three founders of the Cistercian Order along with Saint Alberic and the aforementioned Saint Robert. In the next, there is Saint Benedict of Nursia, father of monastic life in the West. On the wall in front of the chapels, we see the sober carving of Christ Crucified that has great popular devotion. Veneration of the Crucified is common throughout the Catholic world. The faithful people know that their Faith is anchored in a cross and that, on it, Jesus freed us from sin and death by giving his life for us.
“Where can our weakness find a safe and peaceful rest, but in the wounds of the Saviour? I live in them safely, knowing that he can save me.»
About the Song of Songs. Sermon 61 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
⏯ MAIN ALTAR CHAPEL
It is time to contemplate the head of the temple where the main altar is located, located in the spacious presbytery. It is covered with a pointed barrel vault that ends in a semicircular apse. As is usual in Christian temples, it faces east. Look to the east, because from the east the sun rises, which is a symbol of Christ and which, like Christ, illuminates us and gives us life. Light enters through the five large flared openings of the apse. Light, understood as a symbol of divinity, is a fundamental element of Gothic architecture.
“The Cistercian is a particularly Marian order, and the Virgin Mary is an essential part of its spirituality”
The first thing that has surely caught your attention is the delicate image of the Virgin Mary with the Child in her arms that presides over the altar. Previously, a Gothic image from the 14th century presided over the complex. That carving was moved on August 10, 1600 to the hermitage dedicated to her in Ejea de los Caballeros. There was a deep-rooted devotion there since the reconquest of the town in 1105 and where it continues to be venerated today.
The current effigy of Santa María la Real de La Oliva is the work of the French sculptor Raymond de Viverent. Reminiscent of the best period of Gothic statuary in Chartres or Laon and especially, Notre Dame de Bonne Nouvelle of the Bordeaux Cathedral, which it resembles in its fine features.
De Maria nunquam satis… “Enough will never be said about Mary.”
Next to the pillar that supports the effigy of Our Mother, the Virgin Mary, is the tabernacle. It is a fine piece of silver decorated with a coloured relief of the Holy Trinity and different pieces carved in ivory that surround it; the figures of Cherubim, the four Evangelists and the Last Supper of the Lord. This is the only element that offers a few touches of colour. It is no wonder, because in this place is the greatest treasure that we can find in the temple, the Eucharistic Presence of the Lord in the Tabernacle. The Living Christ has freely saved and redeemed us, has given us eternal life and is always with us.
Before leaving this temple erected by human hands for the greater Glory of God, we invite you to have a few moments of reflection. You can accompany and worship the Lord in his Eucharistic presence in the Tabernacle, or sit in silence before the welcoming presence of the Virgin Mary to meditate on her life of dedication and humility. We put at your disposal some useful prayers for these moments of prayer.
“Ignorance of self generates arrogance; But ignorance of God generates despair.”
REMEMBER
Remember, oh Holy Virgin Mary!, that it has never been said that none who has go to your protection, imploring your help, has been forsaken.
Encouraged by this confidence, I come to You, Mother, Virgin of the virgins, and groaning under the weight of my sins, I dare to appear in front of You.
Mother of God, do not dismiss my supplications, listen them and accept them with kindness. Amen.
“LOOK AT THE STAR! CALL UPON MARY!” – ST. BERNARD
All of you, who see yourselves amid the tides of the world, tossed by storms and tempests rather than walking on the land, do not turn your eyes away from this shining star, unless you want to be overwhelmed by the hurricane. If temptation storms, or you fall upon the rocks of tribulation, look to the star: Call upon Mary!
If you are tossed by the waves of pride or ambition, detraction or envy, look to the star, call upon Mary. If anger or avarice or the desires of the flesh dash against the ship of your soul, turn your eyes to Mary. If troubled by the enormity of your crimes, ashamed of your guilty conscience, terrified by dread of the judgment, you begin to sink into the gulf of sadness or the abyss of despair, think of Mary.
In dangers, in anguish, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let her name be even on your lips, ever in your heart; and the better to obtain the help of her prayers, imitate the example of her life: “Following her, you do not stray not; invoking her, you do not despair; thinking of her, you do not wander; upheld by her, you do not fall; shielded by her, you do not fear; guided by her, you do not grow weary; favored by her, you reach the goal. And thus will you experience in yourself how good this saying is: ‘And the Virgin’s name was Mary.’”
Iglesias de Navarra 