GUADIX, Spain.
The memory of Saint Pedro Poveda in Guadix is alive in many ways, especially in the heart and affection of the people of the neighborhood of Las Cuevas. In recent years, new iconography keeps his figure and message close to those whom he loved and for whom he did so much. Maribel Sancho explains the recent works of art, two of which are in the cathedral and one is at Saint Miguel’s parish.
Touring Guadix is always an experience that touches the senses, connects with the best traditions, and evokes the memory of the heart. Doing so with Maribel Sancho is to discover the historical, artistic, and social atmosphere of a town centuries old. This time we will stop at the new iconography of Guadix in honor of Saint Pedro Poveda.
Pedro Poveda kneeling before Our Lady of Grace. Canvas by Miguel Ángel Valenzuela.
In the Parish of Saint Miguel one can see a picture of a young Poveda, kneeling and praying before the image of Our Lady of Grace. "It was an idea of the parish priest of Saint Miguel on the occasion of the year of Mercy," says Maribel Sancho. "Fr. Antonio Fajardo, a native of the caves and a lover of Father Poveda, enjoyed one of the scholarships given by the Teresian Association to seminarians of Guadix," she continues. She adds that "Father Poveda, in his apostolic work in the Caves, belonged to this Parish of Saint Miguel, since the Chapel of the Ermita Nueva was part of it.”
"The group of the Teresian Association did not know about this initiative and, therefore, we were pleasantly surprised," says Maribel Sancho. "It was placed in a solemn act with the presence of Monsignor Ginés García Beltrán, Bishop of Guadix, and Encarnita González was invited to give a talk on the Teresian roots of Poveda."
Then our guide explains: "The canvas of Miguel Angel Valenzuela, a Cordovan painter who is very devout to Victoria Díez, is 1.5 m by .90 m. It represents young Poveda on his knees praying the rosary, in front of a picture of Our Lady of Grace.
Antonio Fajardo explains that Our Lady of Grace is in the background of the painting because she was with him all his life. This is why Poveda looks into the distance and not to Our Lady. There are also two passion flowers that symbolize the priestly martyrdom that was part of his life and his bloody martyrdom. Two lighted candles, symbol of his faith always kept alive despite persecutions; also the smoke of incense is perceived, symbol of his life of prayer that he recognizes was his necessary food. The rosary beads tell us about his deep Marian spirit and, finally in the right corner, Covadonga may be seen. The painting is very dignified and beautiful and it is on the first column of the central nave of the best Mudejar church of Guadix.
"The local Teresian Association has contributed with a donation of 500 € to the cost of the picture, which was 3000 € and was paid for by the Parish of Saint Miguel,” says Maribel Sancho.
Young Poveda in the Caves. Canvas by María García, MAGAR, 2015
Maribel Sancho explains: "After the canonization of Father Poveda, the painting in the cathedral of Guadix was transferred to the Pastoral Center of Guadix. It is a painting of young Poveda in the Caves by María García MAGAR, requested by the bishop to be placed at the entrance of the chapel where Pedro Poveda was ordained, which is today a room for events. Then, at the request of members of the Teresian Association of Guadix, the idea of creating a new painting for the cathedral was presented. This was welcomed and we began the process. The Bishop, Ginés García Beltrán, suggested that the image represent the young priest Poveda in the neighborhood of the Caves so that he may be remembered as an apostle of the Caves.
"And there you have the outcome," says Maribel Sancho, "a canvas of 3m by 2.68 m, painted by the artist in three months when she was over 80, with inner haste because she knew that her weak health would not allow delay. A young Poveda with a landscape evocative of the Caves and recreated by the artist's brilliant hand. A Poveda who looks at the horizon as if sensing the path that awaits him and at the same time he is wearing a cassock sprinkled with mud from the roads he walked in the upper part of the caves. We would say that he is standing there between heaven and earth.
The painting was placed in Saint Teresa’s chapel - today there are images of the Nazorean and the Sorrowful Mother from the Church of Saint Augustine there and these will be returned to their temple once it is restored.
Pedro Poveda in the choir of the cathedral of Guadix. Sculpture by Mr. Ángel Torcuato Asenjo Fenoy
Also in the Cathedral and very recently, a sculpture of Father Poveda was placed in the magnificent Choir of the temple. Maribel Sancho comments that "one of the effects of the civil war in Guadix was the destruction of all the images of the choir of the cathedral except for the one of Saint Torcuato that today occupies the central high part of the Choir. For more than twenty years the town council, with the permission of the bishop, decided to restore the choir but they did not begin until the year 2000, at the initiative of Fr. Antonio Fajardo who is responsible for the patrimony of the cathedral. The work was not completed till recently. 
"The sculptor from Guadix, Mr. Angel Torcuato Asenjo Fenoy was entrusted with the completion of all images, in accordance with theological and historical criteria," says Maribel Sancho.
"The Apostles and Evangelists take up an important part of the choir; then come the fathers of the Church, and then saints associated with the hagiography of Guadix. It is under this concept that Saint Pedro Poveda occupies a space with merits and credentials. Other saints are also represented due to the devotion of benefactors from Guadix. The sculptures are made of cypress wood and they stand out on the walnut wood of the choir. The sculptures give luminosity without being strident. Within the baroque choir, the image of Poveda is neo-baroque and is not overly decorated. It is the only one that is not placed over clouds of glory, but on the mounds of the caves."
We thank Maribel Sancho for her successful presentation and invite readers of WebIT to visit Guadix; enjoy the city, its monuments, and make Father Poveda’s route, which in the last year has three additional works of art that deserve to be contemplated, to remember the words of Bishop Ginés García Beltrán: "Saints are not superheroes to be admired but brothers and sisters to be imitated.”
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