Chapel of the Correo Mayor

This chapel is located directly opposite the monumental screen at the entrance to the church. Though modest in size, it has a rich material and human history.

The powerful Jerez family, who held significant positions in Seville’s government and the Council of the Indies, acquired this chapel due to its proximity to their residence. The family patriarch, Rodrigo de Jerez, was appointed Correo Mayor(Chief Postal Officer), and the chapel was founded as his burial place. Its construction was carried out according to the family’s wishes throughout the sixteenth century.

In the foreground, before entering the chapel, there is a Plateresque-style grille forged by the master Pedro Valera. It is divided into three horizontal sections: the first contains the hinged entrance gate; the middle section continues the lower design and is topped with the family coat of arms, set within a circle and flanked by classical-style figures of young men. Beneath the coat of arms is an inscription with the date 1573, which likely marks the completion of the chapel or the grille itself.

The chapel’s ceiling consists of a decorative plaster vault with a repeated circular motif. Inside, it is adorned with floral designs and features a gilded and estofado Mudéjar-style coffered roof composed of octagonal panels.

Rodrigo de Jerez’s tombstone is located at the foot of the entrance to the chapel’s crypt, displaying the family coat of arms, identical to the one on the grille.

The most significant element inside the chapel is the altarpiece, attributed to Juan Bautista Vázquez the Elder. The altarpiece houses an oil-on-panel painting depicting the Sagrada Lanzada scene. The painting’s authorship has been debated, with attributions ranging among Valdivieso, Alfián, Colmenares, Juan Bautista Vázquez the Elder, and followers of Pedro de Campaña.

At the top of the panel, a curved pediment contains a gilded and polychromed relief depicting the Lord’s tomb, accompanied by the Virgin, the Holy Women, and Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus in white tones, which enhance the contrast. The arch of the pediment is gilded.

The altarpiece’s structure begins with a tiled altar base, upon which the retablo rises. It features a predella and two classical-inspired columns supporting a pediment.

The walls and altar frontal of the Chapel of the Correo Mayor are covered in azulejos, featuring geometric designs framed by a double floral border in cobalt blue and yellow. The chapel walls are also adorned with floral-patterned tiles in green, blue, and yellow. This tilework, dated to 1573, is the oldest in the convent and was painted by Alonso García.

The chapel is currently undergoing restoration.