Our Lady of the Ancient

Patrona de Villanueva de los Infantes (Ciudad Real)

Next to the Jabalón River, in the old enclave of Santa María de Jamila, a baroque sanctuary has a size of the 13th century venerated as patron of Villanueva de los Infantes, its "Mayor Honoraria Perpetua."

Origin and history

The present sanctuary is a 17th-century baroque building, concluded in 1678, with altarpiece from the early 18th century, located in a country area by the Jabalon River, in the old enclave of Santa María de Jamila. It has a size of the Virgin dating back to the 13th century, the image of the ancient venerated as a patron. The tradition dates back to the 12th century, linked to Christian expansion after the Navas de Tolosa.

She is the patron of Villanueva de los Infantes and has been proclaimed the Honorary Mayor Perpetua. Its most prominent devotional feature is the Romeria and the transfer of the image, carried on shoulders from the sanctuary to the parish of San Andrés, where, on the Cross of the Century, it is "received" by the image of St. Thomas of Villanueva.

Year of canonical coronation: it is not certain in the sources.