The Saint Pantaleon blood´s miracle. (Monastery of Encarnacion, Madrid)

J. L. Gamallo. Very near the Royal Palace stands one of the most beautiful churches Madríd, the Royal Monastery of the Incarnation, founded by Queen Margaret of Austria, wife of Philip III. The reason seems to have been to remember the expulsion by her royal husband of the Moors from Spain. In 1616, though having died the Queen, King Philip III with courtly splendor opened the Monastery.

The court architect, Fray Alberto de la Madre de Dios was in charge of the works, in a severe style of Herrera. In the eighteenth century reformed Ventura de la Vega inside, giving the air neoclassical you can enjoy today. Various ship paintings depict scenes from the life of St. Augustine. The frescoes of the chapel are due to Francisco Bayeu, brother in law of Goya. The Annunciation of Vicente Carducho can be admired in the altarpiece, paths flanked by images of Saint Augustine and Santa Monica, the Castilian sculptor Gregorio Fernández. The tabernacle is a masterpiece of Ventura Rodriguez.

But apart from all these sublime works of art and faith, the Incarnation is a sensational custody relic, a vial with a portion of the blood of Saint Pantaleon of Nicomedia, martyred during the persecution of Diocletian (303 AD). It is to know the reasons for this phenomenon, the eve of his saint, on July 27, the blood until then solidified, it licuefacciona. According to tradition, Pantaleon, having been properly tortured, beheaded dry under a fig tree came to life to receive the blood of the martyr.

Hundreds of locals come on this day to witness such amazing miracle and bone kiss a relic of the saint. He is a believer or not, but if lover of art and beauty, is a must come to admire and visit the church and the monastery, one of the undiscovered treasures of Madrid and they are often overlooked by tourists and locals for the same , unaware of greater wonder.