Virgin of the Concha

Patrona de Zamora

Patroness of Zamora, the Virgin of the Concha takes the Child Jesus tied with a silver chain; tradition tells that he "escaped" to play the tribals of La Hiniesta, and since then the Mother always takes him to his side.

Origin and history

The image, formerly known as Our Lady of San Antolín by the church where she was being worshipped, was moved to Zamora around 1062, in the repopulation of the city, and in 1100 she was sworn patron. The primitive size was Romanesque, today lost; the present one is from the 18th century, of a sedent character, with the Child Jesus subject by a silver chain. It was canonically crowned on 8 December 1992. The tradition links its arrival to the relics of Saint Antolin and the help of Palencia to Zamora.

His most unique feature is that silver chain: the pious tradition tells that the Child "escaped" to the nearby village of La Hiniesta to play among the trigals and that, when found, the Virgin decided to always have him tied to her side. Hence the Romeria de La Hiniesta, on the Monday of Pentecost, in which the image accompanies cofrades and authorities to the sanctuary; in the Year Xacobeo is moved on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.