Our Lady of the Holy Cave

Patron of the diocese of Segorbe- Castellón · Height

Inside a cave of the Sierra Calderona, in Altura, venerates Our Lady of the Holy Cave, patron of the diocese of Segorbe- Castellón and Spanish spelologists; a relief of alabaster to which tradition attributes Fra Bonifacio Ferrer.

Origin and history

The sanctuary is a place of Christian veneration consolidated at least since the beginning of the 16th century: tradition places about 1502-1516 the finding of an image of the Virgin within the grotto. The devotion grew significantly in the times of Philip II, favored by the wonders attributed to the waters of the Holy Cave, and by the end of the 17th century it was already venerated throughout the Peninsula and in South America.

The image is a relieve- bust in alabaster, which tradition attributes to Fra Bonifacio Ferrer, Cartjo de Valldecrist and brother of Saint Vincent Ferrer (unconfirmed attribution). She is a patron of the diocese of Segorbe- Castellón with San Pascual Bailón, and a patron of Spanish spelologists since 1955. It was canonically crowned on 8 September 1988.