Mare de Déu del Toro de Menorca

Marian title of Es Mercadal (Menorca) (Balearic Islands)
Recognized by the Church

The Mare de Déu del Toro is the patron of Menorca, venerated on the top of Mount Toro for more than 700 years. According to the legend, after the conquest of the island, some friars saw a column of light on the mountain night after night; they went up in procession and a bull opened their way by bringing down the rocks with their horns, to a hole where they found an image of Mary with the Child, both of them dark. They moved her to her convent, but the image returned to the summit alone: it was the will of the Virgin to stay on top.

Main data

Origin and history

The Mare de Déu del Toro is the patron of Menorca, venerated on the top of Mount Toro for more than 700 years. According to the legend, after the conquest of the island, some friars saw a column of light on the mountain night after night; they went up in procession and a bull opened their way by bringing down the rocks with their horns, to a hole where they found an image of Mary with the Child, both of them dark. They moved her to her convent, but the image returned to the summit alone: it was the will of the Virgin to stay on top.

The image and the sanctuary

It is venerated in the shrine of the top of Mount Toro, the highest point of Menorca, from where it dominates the entire island.

Sponsorship and coronation

Patrona de Menorca.

Party and devotion

His feast is held on May 8, with Romeria in which the bishop blesses the four winds and the four cardinal points of the island. Devotion is a sign of the island's identity.

Link to the Rosary

From the top of the island, the Mother embraces with her eyes all Menorca; the Rosary is to rise to that inner summit from which, in peace, the whole life is seen under Mary's cloak.