Seville Cathedral celebrates on July 17 the feast of Santa Justa and Santa Rufina, the city's patronesses, with religious services and the chapel dedicated to them open and adorned with flowers throughout the week.
The Seville Cathedral began on Thursday, July 17, the events in honour of Santa Justa and Santa Rufina, the two Sevillian sisters who, according to tradition, were martyred in the year 287 for refusing to renounce their Christian faith. The day started with the office of readings and lauds, followed by a commemorative mass in the Royal Chapel at 9:30 am, officiated by the cathedral chapter.
Throughout the week, the cathedral chapel dedicated to the saints will remain open to the public and will be specially adorned with flowers, a tradition that each year gathers numerous faithful and devotees in the heart of the historic centre of the city of Seville. The temple, which houses valuable works of art about the martyrs, thus becomes the epicentre of popular devotion.
Two Potters Turned Patronesses of Seville
Justa and Rufina were born in Seville between the years 268 and 270, into a humble family with deep Christian convictions. Both were engaged in selling pottery items near the Triana gate, a trade that has made them inseparable from the city's iconography. According to martyrial tradition, they were arrested by order of the Roman prefect Diogeniano after refusing to deliver the donation demanded by the procession of the goddess Salambona. Tortured and imprisoned, they did not renounce their faith, and thus were executed.
In their representations, they are usually depicted with the palm of martyrdom and the clay vessels characteristic of their pottery trade. Sevillian iconography also added the Giralda, symbolising the close relationship between the saints and the city. This bond was strengthened after the earthquake of 1504 when, according to tradition, their intercession is said to have saved the cathedral's minaret, which is why they were declared patronesses of Seville.
A Unique Painting by Ignacio de Ríes in the Cathedral
Among the works dedicated to the saints preserved in the Cathedral, the painting Santas Justa y Rufina, attributed to the Sevillian artist of Flemish origin Ignacio de Ríes and created between 1650 and 1655, stands out. As explained by Antonio Rodríguez Babio, canon of Seville Cathedral and diocesan delegate for Cultural Heritage, Ríes was a disciple of Zurbarán and must have trained and collaborated in his workshop.
The painting pairs with another dedicated to Saint Isidore and Saint Leander and is currently preserved in the sacristy of the Chapel of the Ancient. In it, the saints appear with the Giralda between them, although not as a small model held in their hands. The tower is situated in the distance, integrated into a wide view of the Cathedral and its urban surroundings.
Rodríguez Babio notes that the landscape is represented "in the style of an ideal city," although it includes recognizable buildings and spaces from mid-17th century Seville. One of the most striking details is that the Giralda appears without the lily rods that crown its jars, placed there in 1751, approximately a century after the painting was created. Beneath the tower, the Corral de los Olmos can be distinguished, the former seat of the secular and ecclesiastical chapters of the city, demolished in the second half of the 18th century.
The primitive Puerta de los Palos, built with thick timbers and located in one of the arches connecting the Giralda with the Archbishop's Palace, also appears. Behind it rises the apse of the Royal Chapel and its dome. On the other side of the Giralda, according to Antonio Rodríguez Babio's description, the façade of the Cathedral facing the current Cardenal Amigo Vallejo street can be recognized, with the Puerta del Lagarto and the naves of the Gothic temple.
Between the Gravity of Zurbarán and the Kindness of Murillo
Against this landscape, the saints appear under a sky covered with clouds, holding the palms of martyrdom and their ceramic vessels. The elegance of their garments and jewels also stands out, softening the rigid scheme of the composition. Following the appreciation of the late professor Enrique Valdivieso, Rodríguez Babio points out that in the painting coexist the gravity and statism characteristic of Zurbarán with the expressive kindness that characterizes Murillo.
For the people of Seville, this feast is a special occasion to rediscover the rich artistic heritage that the Cathedral treasures around its patronesses. The chapel of the saints, open throughout the week, offers the opportunity to closely contemplate this masterpiece of Sevillian baroque, a jewel that unites faith, history, and art in the heart of the city.
The liturgical acts will continue over the weekend, with extended visiting hours to facilitate access for the faithful. The Cathedral recommends checking its website for details of the programming and access measures.
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