Our Lady of the Sierra

Patrona de Villarrubia de los Ojos · de las villas sanjuanista (Ciudad Real)

In the Sierra Calderina, on the Daihoney Tables, a sanctuary documented since the 13th century keeps the patron of Villarrubia de los Ojos, also venerated as patron of eighteen villas of the Order of St. John.

Origin and history

The sanctuary, on the side of the Sierra Calderina, has been documented at least since the beginning of the 13th century: since 1201 there has been a record of the feast of September 8 and of its importance as a pilgrimage centre. The present hermitage retains a museum of vows and blankets. Legend attributes the image to a donation of Pope Gregory I in the 6th century, then hidden during the Muslim invasion; a story presented as a tradition.

She is a patron of Villarrubia de los Ojos and, by tradition, of eighteen villas in the old territory of the Order of San Juan. His great romaneries - Easter Monday and the third Sunday of May - include the prayer of the Rosary to the Virgin for the sick of the town.

Canonical coronation: not found in the sources.