Mare de Déu de la Misericòrdia

Patrona de Reus (Tarragona)

On the outskirts of Reus, the shrine of the Misericòrdia recalls the apparition of the pastoralist Isabel Besora in time of plague; the rose that, according to tradition, was recorded on her cheek passed to the shield of the city.

Origin and history

The tradition tells that in 1592, during an epidemic of plague, the Virgin appeared to the young pastoralist Isabel Besora on the way to the sea, asking for a cirium to be lit in her honor and promising to deliver the city if the people responded; for them to believe it, she would have been left with a red rose on her cheek, a reason that tradition links with the rose of the shield and the flag of Reus.

From that account, the people raised a hermitage in the place; it was extended in the 17th century, and gave way to the Baroque sanctuary erected in 1748. Damaged in the Civil War, it was later rebuilt and appears today in the Inventory of the Architectural Heritage of Catalonia. Patrona de Reus, his September 25 party, the "Diada de Misericòrdia," is the second largest party in the city, with the "anada al santuari," processions and traditional dances.

Canonical coronation: not found in the sources.