Our Lady of the Olive

Patrona de Vejer de la Frontera (Cadiz) · on a visigoda basilica

On the outskirts of Vejer de la Frontera, the Oliva shrine rises on a visigode basilica of the 7th century; her Virgin, proclaimed patron by Leo XIII, is the Mother of all the verenees.

Origin and history

The sanctuary of Our Lady of the Olive rises on the surface of an ancient visigod basilica of the 7th century, consecrated in 678 by Bishop Teodoracio, who in turn reused materials from an earlier Roman villa. After Muslim domination and reconquest, the temple was rebuilt, and since the mid-14th century it has been dedicated to the advocation of the Olive, patron of Vejer. The present temple is the result of a great reconstruction of 1780, with the fundamental work of the 17th century preserving visible remains.

The Virgin of the Olive, venerated as "Ntra. Mrs. de la Oliva Coronada," is patron of Vejer and his region; his patronage was proclaimed by Pope Leo XIII, a fact that is commemorated every 7 May with a rosemary to the sanctuary. She is invoked as a protective mother of all the old men, with her own brotherhood that encourages the worship and the patron parties.

The exact year of the pontifical proclamation and the coronation mode: they do not record with safety in the sources.