Our Lady of Light

"La Santuca," patron of Liébana · Aniezo (Cantabria)

On the side of Peña Sagra, an image of an alabaster of just 22 centimeters - "La Santuca" - is patron of Liébana and stars every 2 May the one held by the longest procession in Spain.

Origin and history

Popularly known as "La Santuca" for the tiny size of its image - of alabaster, about 22-23 cm - the Virgin of Light is patron of Liébana, a title entrusted to it by Pope John XXIII in 1960; it was canonically crowned on 2 May 1991. His sanctuary rises on the slope of Peña Sagra, in the end of Anizzo. The procession has been documented since the 15th century, with factory books preserved since 1671.

Tradition tells that, in the 16th century, the Virgin appeared on a beech to a pastoralist lost in the fog, asking her to warn the priest of Aniezo to dig in the place and find his image. Its most famous feature is the May 2 procession, which runs between 26 and 28 km to the monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana and back, considered the longest procession in Spain, with the most massive participation of the valley.