Our Lady of Africa

Patrona de Ceuta

Our Lady of Africa is Ceuta's great Marian devotion. His worship is linked to the Portuguese presence in the city, conquered by Portugal in 1415, at which time tradition dates back to the arrival of the image, related to the Order of Christ and the devotion of the Portuguese crown. The invocation was firmly rooted in the city and remained after Ceuta's passage to the Spanish crown. It is appropriate to distinguish the accounts of the first origin of the image from the documented, which is the antiquity and continuity of the cult from the Portuguese stage.

Main data

Origin and history

Our Lady of Africa is Ceuta's great Marian devotion. His worship is linked to the Portuguese presence in the city, conquered by Portugal in 1415, at which time tradition dates back to the arrival of the image, related to the Order of Christ and the devotion of the Portuguese crown. The invocation was firmly rooted in the city and remained after Ceuta's passage to the Spanish crown. It is appropriate to distinguish the accounts of the first origin of the image from the documented, which is the antiquity and continuity of the cult from the Portuguese stage.

The image and the sanctuary

The image is venerated in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Africa, in the historic center of Ceuta. It is a Marian image much loved by the Ceutis, the center of the religious life of the city and its main celebrations. The temple is the devotional heart of Ceuta and goal of the piety of its inhabitants.

Sponsorship and coronation

She's a patron of Ceuta. It also has, by tradition, civil and military dignities of the city. On the exact date of its canonical coronation there is no unanimous data in the sources consulted.

Party and devotion

Its main feast is held on August 5, in close connection with the devotional foundation of the city. The celebrations bring together the Ceutis around their patron, with solemn procession and great popular participation, expression of the deep Marian identity of Ceuta.

Link to the Rosary

The sources consulted do not show a specific link between this devotion and the Rosary as its own title; the Rosary is prayed in veneration according to customary Marian piety.