Church of Madonna delle Grazie (Capuchin church), Gela

The Capuchin Order settled in Gela in 1571, occupying the ruins of the convent of the Conventuals, who lived here from the 13th century to 1481. On July 7, 1866, a law was passed abolishing religious orders and corporations, the monks were expelled, and the building was used as a hospital and a foundling home. The monastery church, built in the 14th century, was abandoned. In 1935, after substantial reconstruction, the church was rededicated in honor of San Francesco and Madonna delle Gracie. In 1944, the facade was restored in the Neo-Gothic style and two towers with spires were added. In 1962, the church was equipped with a third nave (on the right), and in 1966 the church became a parish church and was named Madonna delle Grazie. In 1966, the old monastery buildings were demolished, and a seminary was built in their place. In 1982, a monument to Saint Francesc was erected in front of the church. On July 2, the feast of Madonna delle Grazie is celebrated in Gela, with a solemn procession and the blessing of children. The central nave of the church has a wooden ceiling in the style of the 14th century and four large stained glass windows. The carved dark wood altar was created in 1722 and is decorated with the image of the Madonna of the Angels with St. Francesco and St. Anthony by Filippo Paladini in 1612. This canvas covers a niche with a polychrome wooden statue of the Madonna delle Grazie, made by monks in 1813. Four paintings by the Gela artist Calogero Avocato, painted in 1720, depict Saint Apollonia (left) and Saint Cecilia (right), with two small paintings of Saint Venanzio and Saint Vitus below them. In the transept is the altar of Madonna of the Sick, depicted in an 18th-century wooden painting from the Capuchin monastery in Agira, and on the opposite side is a 17th-century wooden Crucifix. The church also has a wooden statue of St. Francis of Assisi, made in Naples in 1772, a canvas depicting St. Bernard from Corleone and two paintings on wood depicting St. Fedele from Sigmaringa and St. Serafino from Montegranaro. The church is located in the depths of Giuseppe Garibaldi Park, on a high bank, with a beautiful view of the sea and beaches.