Zamora, (EFE).- The lack of vocations and generational change has led the five nuns of the Clarisas order who lived in the convent of Santa Marina in Zamora, founded in the 15th century, to close it and move to León.
The Bishopric of Zamora has reported in a statement the end of this historic monastery because the number of sisters has been “drastically reduced in recent years”, which prevents the convent from “functioning autonomously”, which is why that its closure has been agreed, which means that the property they have occupied since the 14th century will now become part of the heritage of the Diocese of Zamora.
Founded in 1482
The diocesan delegate for Heritage of Zamora, Miguel Ángel Hernández, documented in his doctoral thesis that the convent of Santa Marina was founded in Zamora in 1482.
In the year 1766, the marine nuns of Zamora lived in a convent located in the central street of Santa Clara, but in 1868, the revolutionary government decided to turn this monastery into the seat of the Civil Government, for which the nuns were exclaustrated and transferred to the Monastery of Santa Clara.
They remained there for 13 years before the arrival of the restoration, and with the support of the new bishop, the nuns also had to leave this convent of Santa Clara in 1881 and settle in what has been their location until now.
A few years earlier, the Marquis of Villagodio had rebuilt his palace in order to make it more comfortable, but when the works were completed, in 1878, his wife died and the Marquis preferred to move to Bilbao to live with his children and put the palace up for sale. .
The Clarisas nuns had obtained compensation of 210,000 pesetas for the assets that had been stripped from them during the revolutionary six-year term and with that money they paid for the palace of the Marquis of Villagodio, which from 1881 and up to the present has been the convent of Santa Marine.
The five sisters who currently occupy the monastery will join the Poor Clare community of the city of León, to whose convent they will move shortly to join their mother abbess, who has already resided there since December 2022 due to illness.
Support for the Clarisas sisters
The community of Poor Clare sisters of Zamora have unanimously agreed with this clause, as specified by the Diocese of Zamora, which has “profoundly appreciated the quiet work that the religious community has been doing for centuries.”
He has also highlighted the consecrated life, silence, poverty and the example represented by the Poor Clares of Zamora who put an end to their life in the city.