Our Lady of Valvanuz

Patroness of the Carriedo Valley and the Passegos · Selaya (Cantabria)

On the outskirts of Selaya, in a meadow of the Carriedo valley, we are to be venerated to Our Lady of Valvanuz, patron of the passiegos, whose legend tells that from a rock on the foot of the Virgin a fountain that still flows.

Origin and history

The image is a Gothic size dating back to the mid-13th century. It is venerated in the sanctuary, about 2.5 km from Selaya, built on an earlier construction that the tradition places in the 12th century, although the oldest documentation preserved is from the end of the 16th century. The temple was very remodeled in the 17th and 18th centuries and suffered a fire around 1800. In 1947 she was proclaimed patron of the Carriedo valley and in 1990 received the canonical coronation of the bishop of Santander.

The tradition refers to an apparition of the Virgin to a shepherd in a meadow near Selaya: by asking him to build a church there and asking where, the Virgin would have stepped on a limestone from which a fountain sprang, which continues to rule by the sanctuary. It is one of the most popular virgins in Cantabria, especially among the passegos; its Romeria of August 15 brings together thousands of faithful in the meadow, with sails offerings for health, work and family.

Specific link with the Rosary: not recorded in the sources.