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The Baroque additions: The Tabernacle
At the beginning of the 17th century, the old tabernacle, located between the Puerta del Perdón and the well-known Nave del Lagarto, was deemed insufficient for liturgical needs and not decorative enough to hold the Blessed Sacrament.
Canon Mateo Vázquez de Leca, archdeacon of Carmona, advocated for a new, more prestigious and spacious temple. With capitular agreement, Bishop Pedro de Castro y Quiñones laid the first stone of this new temple dedicated to San Clemente.
The interior of the new tabernacle is notably high, combining classical orders with exuberant baroque ornamentation. It has a box plan with sections of interior buttresses, between which chapels open on both sides.
The main doorway is linteled and flanked by double fluted Tuscan columns on pedestals, topped by a triangular pediment containing a cartouche with the cathedral symbol and two allegorical figures reclining on it. This serves as the principal entrance, though the church also has two other doors: one at the foot and another connecting to the Puerta del Perdón, both designed by Pedro Sánchez Falconete.
Inside, the church houses a real treasure trove of heritage. Notable among these treasures are: The Infant Jesus: Carved by Juan Martínez Montañés in 1606 and the The Christ of the Crown: A 16th-century Nazarene carried in procession days before Easter. The highlight, however, is the main altarpiece, originally from the chapel of the Vizcaínos of the now-demolished convent of San Francisco. This jewel of Sevillian art from the second half of the 17th century features an architectural structure by Francisco Dionisio de Rivas and sculptures and reliefs by Pedro Roldán, which are considered among the finest of its exquisite collection.
The central scene of the altarpiece depicts the Gospel passage of the Descent from the Cross. As a finishing touch, there is a sculpture of San Clemente made by Duque Cornejo. The Iglesia del Sagrario stands out as a significant monumental complex within the already attraction-filled area it belongs to, holding its own historical and artistic value.
