Our Lady of Jerusalem

Patrona de Artajona (Navarra)

In Artajona there is a rare Virgen- relicario of gold copper and enamels, small and ancient, that tradition links to the crusades and to the return of an Artejonese captain of the Holy Land.

Origin and history

The Baroque Basilica was built between 1709 and 1714, on an earlier site where there was a Romanesque church in the second half of the 12th century. The preserved image is a unique piece: a small size of gold copper with champlevé enamels, about 31 centimeters, dated at the beginning of the 13th century, Romanesque with features of transition to Gothic.

Our Lady of Jerusalem is the patron of Artajona. The local tradition tells that Godofredo de Bouillon gave it in 1099 to Saturnino de Lasterra, an Artejonese captain, as a reward for his participation in the crusades; historians also point out, in alternative key, that he could come from French workshops in later times. Her type of Virgen- relicario links her to the protection of troops and pilgrims.

Proper liturgical feast and canonical coronation: not found in the sources.