Veruela Abbey is a Cistercian abbey

Abbey

An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...

 dating from the 12th century. It is situated near Vera de Moncayo

Vera de Moncayo

Vera de Moncayo is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 432 inhabitants....

, in Zaragoza province

Zaragoza (province)

Zaragoza is a province of northern Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Aragon.Its capital is Zaragoza, which is also the capital of the autonomous community. Other towns in Zaragoza include Calatayud, Borja, La Almunia de Doña Godina, Ejea de los Caballeros and Tarazona.Its...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. It was founded in 1146 by Pedro de Atarés.

History

The monastery and church, forming one edifice, were founded in 1146 by Pedro de Atarés, to whom the Blessed Virgin appeared, and whom she directed in the discovery of a hidden statue of herself. The statue was placed in the monastery chapel, where it is still venerated. Pedro de Atarés did not live to see the completion of the buildings, whose construction took more than twenty years, but before his death he was enrolled among the Cistercians, who were dwelling in the partly finished abbey.

The most famous abbots of Veruela were Hernando de Aragón

Hernando de Aragón

Hernando de Aragón y de Gurrea , Archbishop of Zaragoza and Lieutenant General of Aragon, was an Aragonese humanist and historian.- Family :...

 (1498–1577) and Lope Marco (died 1560). He was succeeded by Lope Marco who, as his epitaph tells us, raised the monastery "ex terreo marmoreum, ex augusto amplum".

The chapter house

Chapter house

A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monasteries....

 at the southern side of the cloister

Cloister

A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...

 (an exact representation of the Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

 cloister) is Byzantine. The great buildings, including church, monastery, house, and cloister, constructed at different times and in different styles, are surrounded by a wall that dates back to feudal times. Antonio José Rodríguez, styled by Menéndez y Pelayo "one of the most remarkable cultivators of medical moral studies" (Ciencia espanola, III, 440), lived at Veruela and died within its walls in 1777. Gustavo Becquer, the Spanish poet, made Veruela his abode while the religious were prevented from living there.
From 1835 to 1877 the buildings were in the hands of secular clergy. From that date they were occupied by Jesuits. Assisted by the duchess of Villahermosa, a descendant of Pedro de Atarés, they restored the church and monastery. Of the Jesuits who lived at Veruela, Padre Costa was theologian to the First Vatican Council

First Vatican Council

The First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...

; L. I. Fiter revived the "Congregaciones Marianas" in Spain; Antonio Rota, later secretary of the Society of Jesus, was the rector of Veruela when in 1888 the image of the Blessed Virgin was solemnly crowned.