RELIGIOUS TOURISM

If Úbeda had to be defined with a single slogan, that would be “City for the spirit”, because every corner of the city invites to elevation: few cities are so conducive to the expression of an intimate religiosity and a sense of transcendence. Inescapable in this sense is the imprint of San Juan de la Cruz, a city that built the first temple in the Catholic world in his honor and that today holds an important cultural heritage linked to the saint and poet.

The religious heritage preserved in convents and churches is very rich, and will soon be greatly enriched with the return to the Chapel of El Salvador of the sculpture of San Juanito, recently restored in Florence and the only work of Michelangelo in Spain.

The popular expression of religiosity reaches its culminating point, every year, during the HOLY WEEKa great event with its own profile made of Castilian and Andalusian elements. With almost twenty brotherhoods -several of them centuries old-, Holy Week is a total celebration: an impressive collection of the best imagery of the post-war period, its own gastronomy and a series of deep-rooted traditions, among which the Magna General Procession of Good Friday stands out.

This route is part of the “Huellas de Teresa” network, highlighting her spiritual and architectural legacy through the founding of the Convent of Discalced Carmelites. The itinerary invites you to tour the historic center, including the convent and nearby places, often in combination with nearby Beas de Segura.

The key points of the Teresian Route in Úbeda are:

Convent of the Discalced Carmelites:Fundamental place founded by the Saint, meeting point in the city.

Historical Environment:The route is complemented by a visit to the historic center of Úbeda, declared a World Heritage Site, including places such as the Plaza Vázquez de Molina.

In the year 2026 Úbeda joins join 16 other Teresian cities in the to the Footprints of Teresa Network.

The route of St. John of the Cross in the province of Jaén is a spiritual and cultural itinerary that travels through the places where the mystic lived, wrote and died. In 2026, this route takes on special relevance due to the celebration of the Jubilee Year of St. John of the Cross.

The route can be divided into different points:

Beas de Segura: It was the first place in Jaén where the saint arrived. From here starts the Camino de San Juan de la Cruz, a pilgrimage route of 151 km that connects Beas with Caravaca de la Cruz (Murcia).

Hornos and Pontones:Natural environment of the Sierra de Segura that inspired his mysticism.

Baeza: Center of its academic and pastoral activity.

Úbeda:Place of his death and current main sanctuary.Here is the Museum of San Juan de la Cruz, located in the Convent of San Miguel where the saint died in 1591. The museum has 12 rooms that cover his life and work.

Other related sites in the province: They are Jaén capital:You can visit the Convent of Santa Teresa de Jesus (Discalced Carmelites) and the Parish of San Juan de la Cruz. La Carolina: It houses the Hermitage of San Juan de la Cruz in the homonymous square. And places like Villanueva del Arzobispo (Sanctuary of La Fuensanta) and El Calvario are part of the historical itinerary that the saint traveled between convents.

The Jubilee Year of St. John of the Cross 2026 is a time of special grace granted by the Holy See to commemorate two fundamental historical milestones of the mystic from Avila: the III Anniversary of his canonization (1726) and the I Centenary of his proclamation as Doctor of the Church (1926).

The commemorative events will take place from December 13-14, 2025 until December 26, 2026. Under the motto: “Hope reaches as far as it waits”.

The main venues for the celebrations will be the cities with the strongest San Juanist influence, especially Úbeda (the place of his death), Segovia (where his tomb is located) and Fontiveros (his birthplace).