Our Lady of Lugas

La "Santina de Lugás" · Villaviciosa (Asturias)

In a village of Villaviciosa, a Romanesque sanctuary guards the "Santina de Lugás," one of the main Marian seals of Asturias, which on 8 September congregates a rosteria as multitudinary as that of Covadonga.

Origin and history

The tradition places the Christian origin of the place in the High Middle Ages, with a church of Santa Maria de Lugás mentioned in a supposed donation of Pope Zechariah to King Alfonso I towards the eighth century, although the scholars themselves recognize that it is an academic tradition without firm documentary accreditation. The factory that is preserved today is Romanesque, from the late 12th and early 13th century, linked to the monastic environment of Valdediós, and has been declared Good of Cultural Interest since 1994.

It is one of the main Marian sanctuaries of Asturias: its rosemary of September 8 came to gather, in some years, more rosemary than Covadonga. The image is known with affection as the "Santina de Lugás." A very widespread legend shows that three "virgins" sisters arrived by sea were divided between Covadonga, Lugás and Santa Mera, which would explain that all three celebrate the Nativity of Mary on September 8. Among his jubilee days is the first Sunday of October, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Formal canonical patronage and canonical coronation: not recorded in the sources.