Right in front of you stands the dignified Church of Nuestra Señora de Gracia, looking like it's ready for a postcard-or maybe just waiting for its close-up. Imagine it’s the late 1940s: Alicante is still dusting itself off after the Spanish Civil War. In the square around you, workers and architects bustle about, bricks and blueprints in hand, as Antonio Serrano Peral, the diocesan architect, stands nearby supervising every little detail with a determined frown. The church was finally finished in 1951, joining a family of other postwar churches in Alicante, all built in the so-called “Jesuit Style,” with wide, welcoming spaces and a layout for both grandeur and comfort-because even saints deserve a little elbow room.
But wait, the story doesn’t end there. Fast-forward to 2008. For decades, everyone agreed the church looked a bit… incomplete, as if it was saving face until someone sorted out the upper doorway. That year, sculptors finally added two statues above the entrance: Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Saint John Paul II. So if those two ever decide to hold a staring contest, this is the spot.
Take a good look at the façade-the calm, sturdy beauty of Alicante’s 20th-century faith and recovery, topped with modern-day saints who seem to be watching over everyone that passes by. Even churches love a dramatic entrance!
