Our Lady of Remedies

Ourense · sanctuary next to the Roman bridge of the Miño

Next to the Roman bridge of Ourense, on the banks of the Miño, the chapel of the Remedians keeps one of the most entrenched devotions of the city; a 16th century temple built to dignify an ancient "challenge field" and to make it a place of Marian amparo.

Origin and history

The chapel - the sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies is a 16th-century temple, erected in 1522 by Francisco Méndez Montoto, knight of St. John and general procurator of the city, who decided to raise it in an area then known as the Soto del Rey or Campo del Desafío - a place of duels, challenges and crimes - with the express purpose of protecting the passers-by and dignifying the place. Located next to the Roman bridge, on the banks of the Miño, it was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1961 and then Good of Cultural Interest; in July 2010 it suffered a fire that damaged its structure and forced a later restoration.

Devotion is deeply rooted in Ourense and its surroundings. It focuses on the novena of late August and early September and on the pilgrimage of September 8, Nativity of the Virgin, considered of the best in the city. During the novena, the image - a stone size of the Virgin of Remedies - is transferred to the parish of Mary Auxiliadora and, concluded, is returned in procession to the chapel for the Romance. The Procession of Light, on September 7, of a marked popular character, is another of its own devotional elements. The sources do not collect a legendary account of apparition linked to their origin.

Formal co-patronage of the city and canonical coronation: not recorded in the sources.