This Church was built in 16th century. Its first stones and ashlars began to be laid in the year 1540 by the architect Juan Ajofrin and his son. Later it was finished by Jerónimo García.
One of the curiosities of this place is that before being a church it was the Greater Mosque. Between the years 1559 and 1565, through a series of renovations, this space was adapted to the new Christian worship.
On the portico of the main entrance we can see the seated statue of Santa María la Mayor, patron saint and protector of the temple and the town. This portico was designed by the master stonemason Gaspar de Muriel and he built it in 1559.
In the early morning of August 21, in 1569, it dawned in Padul when an army of 2,000 Moors tried to reconquer the town, because Castilian kings broke the pact regarding beliefs, clothing and customs. These Moors deceived the detachment of soldiers that defended the fortress mounted in this square and, above all, the clueless lookout who, from the tower, scanned the horizon looking towards Dúrcal.
From there they waited for the coming of the Moors, but them, as good strategists, they walked overnight from Las Albuñuelas and sacked our town through the Humilladero (La Cruz de Santa Elena), located at the entrance to the town from Granada. That night there was a fierce fight, blood, fires and deaths.
The Santa María la Mayor Church houses large altarpieces inside, some from the 16th century and due to the characteristics of the paintings, they are probably from the son of Pedro Machuca (Luis) or Juan de Palenque.
This church houses most of the images that walk throught Padul during Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. This Holy Week in Padul is classified as a Festival of Tourist Interest in Andalusia.
Next to this church there is a beautiful and spacious square, where two crosses are located. The most famous of the crosses in Padul, is the Cruz de los Bubujones located in the Plaza de la Iglesia, which owes its name to the bubbles or bulges sculpted on the body and arms of the cross. It is said that, during the days of Lent, in which fasting and abstinence had to be kept, a good woman went to the mass of the offices of Good Friday, and for violating that purpose, when leaving the church, the cross swallowed her. This frightened woman began elbowing, kicking, and kneeing with all her might to escape from inside the cross. And that's when those lumps came out. This kind of legends demonstrate the evolution and feelings of people.
In total, seventeen precious Crosses are located in the streets of Padul as a sign and symbol of the religious faith of its inhabitants since ancient times.
Some of them and the best known are:
Mission Cross.
Watchtower Cross.
Cross of the Crossroads.
Cross of the Molinas.
Cross of the Asomadillo.
