The Basilica of La Encina in Ponferrada

Perched in Ponferrada, El Bierzo, León, Castilla y León, the Basilica of La Encina offers a curious spectacle. With its upper component fashioning a medium hexagon and a crucero with short and wide arms, it serves as a testament to an old church's remodeling. Near the entryway, a baptistery is tucked away on the left, while the stairs guide you to the tribune on the right. In the center is a vestibule with side vanes, and in the second section to the left, there is a lateral door with a neoclassical fronton from the second half of the 17th century.

The camarín of the famed Virgen de La Encina rests at the testero. The original medieval church of Santa María, erected at the end of the 12th century, sported five altars: Santa María, San Pedro, Santa Catalina, Santo Domingo, and Santiago. A four-bell campanario adorned its grandeur, but it faced heavy criticism for being too small, poorly constructed, and indecorous. Because of this, in 1567, the provisor of the Obispado de Astorga permitted the villa to build a new church.

Construction began in 1573 but was interrupted by several factors, including the plague which led to changes in the plans. The church was built in several phases, with the chapel and crucero finished by 1593, and various new plans being drawn between 1612 and 1670. Although the tower's spire was destroyed by lightning, the upper part was repaired in a style that contrasts with the lower part. The church retains the image of the Virgen de La Encina, Patrona of El Bierzo.

The history of the basilica is also tied to a miraculous healing and repeated attempts to transform the church into a collegiate. Maria Manuela de Mendoza was miraculously healed in 1706 and 1707, creating an opportunity to petition for a change into a collegiate. However, the conversion was denied in 1720 due to the loss of the report during the war, and again in 1725 because the consent of the villa, the bishop, and the chapter for the annexation of their curacies was missing. A final denial was issued by the fiscal in 1731.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons