The history of the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Bullas

Located in the municipality of Bullas, the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario is a prominent local monument and one of the oldest buildings in the area. Previously, the religious temple of the village was the hermitage of San Antón, which belonged to the Casa de Fajardo. The current church began construction in the late 17th century, shortly after Bullas gained independence from Cehegín, and was completed in 1723.

To accommodate demographic growth and address the deteriorating state of the structure, the church underwent a significant restoration and expansion in the late 18th century. Under the direction of architect Jerónimo Martínez de Lara, workers added two side naves, the sacristy, and the tower, finishing these works in 1803. Later, in 1905, the current Sagrario chapel was completed in a Neogothic style featuring Nolla mosaic flooring.

Inside, the church houses a collection of religious sculptures and artworks. These include San Juan Evangelista (Gregorio Molera Torá, 1929), Virgen del Rosario (Jenaro Lázaro Gumiel, 1939), Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno (Juan González Moreno, 1944), and San Francisco de Asís (Nicolás Prados López, 1945). Other notable pieces include Virgen de la Soledad (José Sánchez Lozano, 1951), which may have been created from the remains of an original 19th-century statue, as well as Virgen de las Angustias (Tomás Noguera Belenguer, 1952), Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (Juan González Moreno), and Santiago Apóstol (Antonio Labaña Serrano, 2000).

The church is dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Rosario, the patron saint of Bullas. The title was officially chosen by a vote of the neighbors on November 25, 1723, where she received 28 votes against one for San Bartolomé Apóstol. The current statue of the patrona was commissioned in 1939 by Jenaro Lázaro Gumiel and was canonized on October 2, 1960.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons