Our Lady of the Holy Cave

Patron saint of Segorbe-Castellón

According to a long-standing tradition, the image is the work of Friar Bonifacio Ferrer, a Carthusian monk of the Charterhouse of Valldecrist and brother of Saint Vincent Ferrer. It is said that Bonifacio, around the beginning of the 15th century, created small reliefs of the Virgin in plaster (or alabaster, according to some accounts) to give to shepherds, so they could carry them in their satchels and venerate them in their shelters. Tradition places the miraculous discovery of the image in the grotto on dates that vary depending on the source: some mention 1502 or the period between 1503 and 1508, while another account mentions an apparition of the Virgin in the cave in 1516. The discrepancies in dates and the lack of contemporary documents mean that these chronologies should be considered traditional, not firmly documented. Numerous miracles have been attributed to the Virgin, especially those related to the waters of the cave and the health of pilgrims, including the emergence of the Berro spring in the town of Altura. These news items belong to the realm of devotional tradition.

Main data

Origin and history

According to a long-standing tradition, the image is the work of Friar Bonifacio Ferrer, a Carthusian monk of the Charterhouse of Valldecrist and brother of Saint Vincent Ferrer. It is said that Bonifacio, around the beginning of the 15th century, created small reliefs of the Virgin in plaster (or alabaster, according to some accounts) to give to shepherds, so they could carry them in their satchels and venerate them in their shelters. Tradition places the miraculous discovery of the image in the grotto on dates that vary depending on the source: some mention 1502 or the period between 1503 and 1508, while another account mentions an apparition of the Virgin in the cave in 1516. The discrepancies in dates and the lack of contemporary documents mean that these chronologies should be considered traditional, not firmly documented. Numerous miracles have been attributed to the Virgin, especially those related to the waters of the cave and the health of pilgrims, including the emergence of the Berro spring in the town of Altura. These news items belong to the realm of devotional tradition.

In documented records, the sanctuary has been established as a Marian place of worship since at least the 16th and 17th centuries; devotion to it reached its peak during the reign of Philip II, when miracles attributed to its waters drew large crowds of worshippers. By the end of the 17th century, the devotion had spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula and into South America, according to devotional accounts found in contemporary sources.

The image and the sanctuary

The image is venerated in the Sanctuary of the Holy Cave, located in a natural grotto on the northern slope of the Sierra Calderona mountain range, about 12 km from Altura (province of Castellón, diocese of Segorbe-Castellón) at an altitude of approximately 811 m. It is officially recognized as a Marian shrine of the diocese and one of the most significant religious symbols of the Archpriestship of Segorbe and the Valencian Community. The venerated image is a small bust relief of the Virgin Mary (approximately 20 cm high by 10 cm wide), with a crown of rays at the top. Most popular and widely circulated sources attribute the image to Friar Bonifacio Ferrer and describe it as a plaster bas-relief, although other recent descriptions mention an alabaster relief also attributed to Bonifacio Ferrer.

Patronage and coronation

She is the principal patron saint of the Diocese of Segorbe-Castellón, along with Saint Paschal Baylon, since 1961, when Pope John XXIII declared her as such. She is the patron saint of the city of Segorbe and is especially venerated in Altura and throughout the Alto Palancia region. She has also been the patron saint of Spanish speleologists since 1955. Other towns and institutions outside the diocese have her as their patron saint: Beniarrés (Alicante), Santa María de Dota (Costa Rica), Piacoa (Venezuela), and Bochalema (Colombia). Her canonical coronation was celebrated on September 8, 1988.

Celebration and devotion

The official feast day of the sanctuary is September 8th, and the feast of the Patron Saint (commemorating her as patron saint of the diocese) is September 11th, celebrated with a solemn Eucharist both in Segorbe Cathedral and at the sanctuary itself. The pilgrimage from Altura to the sanctuary takes place on the last Sunday of April. The sanctuary is now a center of large-scale pilgrimages for the diocese and the region.

Link with the Rosary

The sources consulted do not show a specific or unique link between this devotion and the Rosary (Rosary confraternity or singular Rosary practice distinct from the usual Marian devotion).