Mare de Déu de la Balma

The Rock Sanctuary · Zorita del Maestraud (Castellón)

Covered in a rocky coat on the Bergantes River, the Mare de Déu de la Balma sanctuary is one of the most unique of the Maestracción, a place of communal pilgrimage since the Middle Ages.

Origin and history

Local tradition tells that the Virgin appeared to a manco pastor, asked him to build a hermitage in the Balma and returned his arm; it is also said that the image was hidden there since the Muslim era. They're legendary stories.

The documented history testifies to the sanctuary at least since the 14th century; the present set, with its hermitage and facade attached to the rock, was made in 1667. It has been a place of communal pilgrimage and of care for the sick, with a later fame - more of disclosure than of history - linked to "exorcisms."

Party, patronage and canonical coronation are not safely recorded in the sources.