Virgin of the Head

Patron saint of Andújar

Our Lady of the Head is one of the great Marian devotions of Andalusia, centered in the Sierra Morena mountains. According to tradition, its origin dates back to around 1227 or 1227-1228, when the shepherd Juan Alonso de Rivas, from Colomera (Granada), saw a light and found a small image of the Virgin on a holm oak tree on the Cabezo hill, experiencing apparitions and the miraculous healing of his paralyzed arm. This account is based on pious tradition, not contemporary documentation. As documented history, the confraternity of Our Lady of the Head is clearly attested in the 14th century and became established in the 15th and 16th centuries, with royal privileges and widespread influence throughout Andalusia and La Mancha.

Main data

Origin and history

Our Lady of the Head is one of the great Marian devotions of Andalusia, centered in the Sierra Morena mountains. According to tradition, its origin dates back to around 1227 or 1227-1228, when the shepherd Juan Alonso de Rivas, from Colomera (Granada), saw a light and found a small image of the Virgin on a holm oak tree on the Cabezo hill, experiencing apparitions and the miraculous healing of his paralyzed arm. This account is based on pious tradition, not contemporary documentation. As documented history, the confraternity of Our Lady of the Head is clearly attested in the 14th century and became established in the 15th and 16th centuries, with royal privileges and widespread influence throughout Andalusia and La Mancha.

The image and the sanctuary

The image is venerated in the Royal Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Head, on the Cerro del Cabezo hill, within the municipality of Andújar (Jaén), in the Diocese of Jaén. The Virgin is venerated as a small, dark-skinned image, much loved throughout the diocese. During the Spanish Civil War, the sanctuary was the site of the famous Siege of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Head (1936-1937), in which a group of Civil Guards and civilians resisted for months with the image of the Virgin ever-present as a source of spiritual protection; the original image was destroyed and replaced with a new carving after the war.

Patronage and coronation

She is the patron saint of the Diocese of Jaén and the city of Andújar. The canonical coronation took place in 1909, proclaimed by Saint Pius X (pontifical coronation).

Celebration and devotion

The main celebration is the pilgrimage on the last Sunday of April, considered one of the oldest pilgrimages in Spain. The liturgical feast day in the Jaén diocesan calendar falls close to the day of the pilgrimage, although the exact liturgical date is not unanimously agreed upon in the sources consulted. The pilgrimage brings together tens of thousands of devotees, with the typical cry of "¡Viva la Morenita!" (Long live the Dark-Skinned Virgin!), and is expressed through votive offerings, vows, and pilgrimages on foot from numerous towns.

Link with the Rosary

The affiliated confraternities often organize rosaries and novenas in honor of Our Lady of the Head, especially in the days leading up to the pilgrimage. Ancient confraternity practices where the Rosary was a regular custom are documented, but not specifically under the title "of the Rosary"; the connection lies in the ordinary Marian devotion of rosaries, novenas, and triduums.