Mare de Déu de Cura

Shrine of the Puig de Randa, Mount Ramon Llull (Algaida, Mallorca)

At the top of the Puig de Randa, where Ramon Llull received his "enlightenment," the Mare de Déu de Cura sanctuary is raised, which unites Marian devotion, Lulian memory and an old tradition of studies.

Origin and history

According to tradition, the origin of the sanctuary is on a Marian altar that Ramon Llull would have ordered to build in 1275, dedicated to the Mare de Déu de Randa; it was on this mountain that the wise Mallorcan, retired as a hermit, received the "enlightenment" that led him to compose his Ars. The first secure documentary reference of his retirement to Randa is in "Vida coetània" (1311). As an organized sanctuary, Cura is consolidated in the second half of the 14th century and generalizes its name in the 16th century, integrating church, monastery and a grammar classroom.

After the decline of the 19th century, it was restored in the early 20th century by Bishop Pere Joan Campins, and in 1913 the regular tertiary Franciscans took over. The image received pontifical coronation in 1955. His devotion unites three dimensions: the Marian, the Lulian and the knowledge, in addition to the agrarian religiosity - with the ancient "Benedicció dels fruits," documented since the 16th century.

Date of the party and official title of patronage: they are not safely recorded in the sources.