The parish church of Socorro (Parroquia de Nuestra Señora del Socorro) was only built in 1956 but it and the plaza around it feature prominently on every walking tour of Ronda. The ground on which the church stands was the location of a parish chapel, a hospital, and before that a Muslim chapel.

During the reconquest of Ronda the plaza in front of the church was the campsite of Don Tello de Girón, the Grand Master of the Order of Calatrava. After the reconquest the Order of Calatrava built a residence in the site of the current church for their Grand Master, the last of whom, Don García López de Padilla, generously gave the house and its land for the purpose of a hospital for the poor and travelling pilgrims.

In 1577 a small chapel for the hospital had been built, however the entire structure was demolished later and in 1709 a new church built on the site. In 1836 the church was promoted to parish, adopting the new name Parroquia de Nuestra Señora del Socorro, a name it has retained despite the demolition of the old church in 1936 by socialists in the Spanish civil war. The new and much larger church you see today was rebuilt in the 1950s.

During Franco’s rule of Spain the plaza in front of the church was known as Plaza del General Franco, but in 1981 after the transition to democracy the mayor of Ronda, Juan Ordoñez Harillo signed an order dated 21st April 1981 officially renaming the plaza Plaza del Socorro, and also ordering the removal of plaques on walls that honoured Franco.

Nuestra Señora del Socorro is open every day for parishioners, and tourists are welcome to enter but photographs should be taken respectfully.

GPS Location
Latitude: 36.743123 (36° 44′ 35.24” N)
Longitude: -5.165656 (5° 9′ 56.36” W)

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