Our Lady of the Caves

Patrona de Viana (Navarra)

At the end of Viana, next to the Camino de Santiago, the hermitage of the Virgin of Cuevas - the old church of a missing medieval village - keeps the patron of the city, who every Easter Monday goes up in Rome on the "Day of Cuevas."

Origin and history

The present hermitage of the Virgin of Cuevas was the parish church of the town of pre-Roman and then medieval origin of Covas / Cuevas, which joined Viana in 1219. The church and the fellowship linked to the Virgin are documented since the 14th century. As the core of Caves disappeared, devotion was associated with Viana, and the ancient church remained as hermit-Marian sanctuary.

The Virgin of the Caves is patron of Viana. The size usually remains in the parish church of Santa Maria and is moved in procession to the hermitage on Easter Monday, in the Romeria of the "Day of Cuevas": the image is carried in about 3 km, headed by the banner of the fellowship, turning the faithful to bear it, a sign of a very deep-rooted devotion.

Canonical coronation: not found in the sources.