Iglesia San Isidro Labrador y Santa María de la Cabeza

The Iglesia San Isidro Labrador y Santa María de la Cabeza (English: Church of Saint Isidore the Laborer and Blessed Maria Torribia) is a 19th-century Spanish Colonial-style church building located in the main town square of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico.

It is one of 31 Puerto Rican churches reviewed for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as part of the Historic Churches of Puerto Rico multiple property submission (MPS).^[1] It was also added to the Puerto Rico Register of Historic Sites and Zones on December 21, 2000.^[2]

History

A rural chapel belonging to the regional parish of San Germán already existed at the site of the current church by the time of the founding of Sabana Grande in 1775. As decreed by the Law of the Indies, the parish church was established between 1808 (the year when the church began construction) and 1814 at the site of the main town square across from the city hall of Sabana Grande. The purpose of this new church building was to accommodate the growing population of the town powered by improvements in farming practice in the area during the early 19th-century The parish was dedicated jointly to the saints Isidore the Laborer and Maria Torribia, a husband and wife pair who are the patron saints of farmers.^[3]

The church received numerous additions and modifications throughout the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. For example, a clock which is now the second oldest still in continuous use in Puerto Rico was added to its facade in 1864.^[3] The Bishop of Ponce saw reconstruction in 1934.^[4]

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