Our Lady of the Snows

Patron saint of La Palma

Our Lady of the Snows es la patron of the island of La Palma, venerated in his sanctuary over the city of Santa Cruz de La Palma. His veneration is one of the oldest in the Canary Islands: the image predates the conquest of the island (1492-1493) and devotion is already documented in the 15th century - one of Pope Martin V, 1423, menciona una «Santa María» en la isla—. La advocación de las Nieves remite a la basílica romana de Santa María la Mayor y a la tradición de la nieve milagrosa de agosto.

Main data

Origin and history

Our Lady of the Snows es la patron of the island of La Palma, venerated in his sanctuary over the city of Santa Cruz de La Palma. His veneration is one of the oldest in the Canary Islands: the image predates the conquest of the island (1492-1493) and devotion is already documented in the 15th century - one of Pope Martin V, 1423, menciona una «Santa María» en la isla—. La advocación de las Nieves remite a la basílica romana de Santa María la Mayor y a la tradición de la nieve milagrosa de agosto.

Unlike other Canary Islands, no consta a legendary account of apparition: its origin is linked to the very antiquity of the image and the arraigo of the cult from the early times of the Christian presence in La Palma.

The image and the sanctuary

The image is a terracotta size the end of the 14th century (late Romanesque style with features of transition to Gothic), of 82 cm, que representa a la Virgin sitting with the Child on the left kneeThe hands and the figure of the Child were remade of wood in the 16th century. It's considered. one of the oldest Marian images in the Canary Islands. He is taken into custody in the Royal Island Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Snowin the neighborhood of the same name; during the lustral lower, the image temporarily resides in the parent church of El Salvadorin the heart of the city.

Sponsorship and coronation

She's a patron of La Palma. Su canonical coronation se celebró el 22 June 1930, by the bull of the pope Pío XI and with pontifical rank; it was the second Marian image canonically crowned in the Canary Islandsafter the Virgin of Candelaria.

Party and devotion

The main party is the 5 Augustthe day of Our Lady of the Snow, festive in La Palma, with solemn mass and procession; on the eve, the 4 AugustA night procession is held. The most famous feature is the Down from the Virgin of the SnowBig party. Lustral (every five years) in which the image descends from his sanctuary to the city. Its origin is in the 17th century: in the face of a severe drought, the bishop Bartolomé García Jiménez promovió en 1676 the rogative transfer of the employer, First down se realizó en 1680; over time it was set as a five-year celebration, today one of the most renowned festivals of the archipelago.

Link to the Rosary

No consta in the sources consulted a specific historical link of this advocation with the Rosary as a devotional title. Even so, the Rosary naturally accompanies its devotion: the pilgrimages and eve around the patron of La Palma are lived in a climate of Marian prayer, and praying the Rosary is the simple and constant way to join the trust that the palms have put in their Lady of the Snow over the centuries.