Jelsa’s Church of Our Lady of Health

The church dedicated to Our Lady of Health is situated on the Račić hill overlooking Jelsa, and dates back to the 16th century. The original church was built on the site of a Medieval chapel in 1535, and was a votive church for mariners. Its current appearance overall dates from the 19th century, and major renovation works were completed in 2013, including landscaping the surrounding area and planting the slope leading up to the church with olive trees.

The church is only used on special occasions. One of these centres on the feast day for Our Lady of Health, which falls on November 21st. Mass is celebrated on consecutive days around that date, with a particular day allocated to each parish in the Jelsa region, so that parishioners make the pilgrimage from their home village to attend ‘their’ special mass.