Our Lady of the Head

The Morenita of Sierra Morena

Our Lady of the Head is a venerated Marian advocation in the Basilica and Royal Sanctuary of its name, in the Cerro del Cabezo, within the natural park of the Sierra de Andújar, in the province of Jaén. popularly known as the Queen of Sierra Morena, is an honorary patron and mayor of Andújar and patron of the diocese of Jaén. Every year he brings together a multitude of rosemary people in one of the oldest and most enchanting rosemary in Spain.

Main data

Central message: on the top of Sierra Morena, the Morenita is Mother who welcomes those who come up to meet her. His rosemary, multitudinary and popular, keeps the devotion of Andalusia and the entire Spanish geography alive.

Tradition and history: a necessary distinction

The Virgin of the Head has two plans that should not be confused.

The tradition He says that in the early morning of August 11-12, 1227, the Virgin appeared to a pastor of Colomera named Juan Alonso de Rivas, who was feeding the cattle on the heights of the Cabezo. Attracted by a few luminaires and a bell, he went up to the top and found between two large granite blocks a small image of the Virgin. According to the story, his paralyzed arm was left healthy, a sign that gave credit to his testimony. It is a venerable account of popular piety.

La documented history He testifies to a sanctuary consolidated in the Cerro del Cabezo, with its basilica, its canonical coronations, its rich fellowship and centuries of romance. The devotion to the Morenita, real and verifiable, is held on the love of a people who each year go up to the saw to meet their Mother.

History of the sanctuary and devotion

Origin and apparition

The tradition places the beginning of devotion in 1227, when Pastor Juan Alonso de Rivas would have found the image at the summit of the Cabezo and, according to the story, the Virgin expressed her desire for a temple to rise there. Andújar took the advocation as his own and began to build the sanctuary in the same place of apparition.

The Basilica of Sierra Morena

The Basilica and Royal Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Head was initially built between 1287 and 1304 in the Cerro del Cabezo, in the municipal term of Andújar. Over the centuries he underwent several transformations, the main one at the end of the 16th century by the architect Andrés de Vandelvira. After being almost completely destroyed during the Civil War, the temple was reconstructed of a new plant and raised to the rank of minor basilica by short pontificate of April 21, 2010.

The current image

The image that is being venerated today, the work of sculptor José Navas Parejo (1944), replaced the primitive size destroyed in the Civil War. It is a size of polychrome cedar wood, of Byzantine style, that presents the Lady sitting holding the Child God on her left arm; it is about 65.5 cm high. Mary wore a scarlet robe and a blue blanket stew in gold, and let her brown hair on her shoulders. It holds a mother-in-law, typical fruit of Sierra Morena. As usual since the 17th century, it is often presented to the cult covered with mantle and saya.

Canonical coronations

The Virgin of the Head was canonically crowned in 1909, being the second crowned image of Andalusia after the Virgin of the Kings of Seville. The new image was again crowned in 1960, in an act of disgracement after the loss of the primitive size, and a third coronation was held in 2009, on the occasion of the first centenary of the first.

The Golden Rose

In 2009, during his Jubilee Year, Pope Benedict XVI granted him the Golden Rose, which was imposed on him on 22 November 2009 in the Cathedral of Jaén by Bishop Ramón del Hoyo López. It is the first Marian image of Spain to receive this distinction, in recognition of its patronage over the diocese of Jaén, the deep devotion with which it is venerated and the antiquity of its Romany.

The Romeria of Andújar

The Rome to the Basilica, convened by the Matrix Brotherhood of Andújar, is one of the oldest in Spain, with about eight centuries of history. So famous was that literates like Miguel de Cervantes - who visited her in 1592 and mentioned her in The work of Persiles and Sigismunda- or Lope de Vega wrote about it. Over time, devotion spread throughout Andalusia and beyond, with numerous subsidiary cofradies.

Spiritual Message of the Head

The devotion to the Morenita continues to speak with simplicity today:

⛰️ Mary is waiting high. Whoever goes up to Sierra Morena is not looking for a trophy, but a Mother who welcomes him at the summit.
📿 The faith of the people is what lasts. Beyond the account of the apparition, it is centuries of trusted Romry that hold Angijar.
🌿 The saw teaches how to pilgrim. Andalusia looks to the Queen of Sierra Morena as an open house for those who need comfort.
✝️ Mary always takes the Son. He holds the Child God in his arm: he never stays for himself, always leads to God.

Prayer to Our Lady of the Head

The Marian prayers And prepare your party with a simple, trusted ninth.