The church of Santa María la Mayor de Pontevedra, is a Catholic church, dating from the 16th century, which since 1962 has been a Basilica, by decree of Pope John XXIII.

The temple also has the distinction of "Royal Sanctuary", since it was granted in 2000, by the mercy of the Majesty of him, King Juan Carlos I of Spain.

Pontevedra is not the seat of the bishopric, it belongs to the diocese of Santiago, so there is no cathedral in it. Perhaps for this reason the church, today the Basilica of Santa María, is considered the main church in Pontevedra.

It is located in the old town of Pontevedra; right in the same place where a small Romanesque church used to be erected, which was demolished in the 15th century.

The construction of the current temple was promoted by the archbishops of Santiago de Compostela D. Alonso II de Fonseca y Acevedo and D. Alonso III de Fonseca y Ulloa, and supported by various noble families of the town, such as the Barbeito and Padrón, the Mariño de Lobera, the Arango Sotomayor, the Pereira de Castro or the Abreu Araújo, as well as various union entities, such as the Cofradía do Corpo Santo, de los mareantes, the oldest civil entity in Pontevedra and the oldest sea guild in all of Spain, as well like the brotherhoods of San Mauro, of the bakers; San Miguel, of the registered sailors; or the Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity, of the priests. It was built following the plans of Juan de los Cuetos and Diego Gil, among others (Cornielles de Holanda, Mateo López, Sebastián Barros, Domingo Fernándes and Juan Noble).