Our Lady of the Oak

Patron saint of El Bierzo

Our Lady of the Holm Oak, affectionately known as "La Morenica," is the most revered Marian image in El Bierzo (León). The current image is a 16th-century silver-plated wooden carving, and its basilica was built in the 16th and 17th centuries. Local tradition, recorded by the Diocese of Astorga, recounts that an earlier image was brought from Jerusalem around the year 450 by Saint Toribio, Bishop of Astorga; that in the 9th century, Saint Genadius hid it to protect it from raids; and that around 1300, the Knights Templar, while cutting down a holm oak for castle construction, found the image in the trunk on September 8th, hence its name. The municipal website itself acknowledges the obvious anachronism of this legend, which should be distinguished from documented history.

Main data

Origin and history

Our Lady of the Holm Oak, affectionately known as "La Morenica," is the most revered Marian image in El Bierzo (León). The current image is a 16th-century silver-plated wooden carving, and its basilica was built in the 16th and 17th centuries. Local tradition, recorded by the Diocese of Astorga, recounts that an earlier image was brought from Jerusalem around the year 450 by Saint Toribio, Bishop of Astorga; that in the 9th century, Saint Genadius hid it to protect it from raids; and that around 1300, the Knights Templar, while cutting down a holm oak for castle construction, found the image in the trunk on September 8th, hence its name. The municipal website itself acknowledges the obvious anachronism of this legend, which should be distinguished from documented history.

The image and the sanctuary

The image is venerated in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Holm Oak, in Plaza de la Encina, next to the Templar Castle, in Ponferrada. Our Lady of the Holm Oak has been the focus of a rich tradition of miracles: a mid-19th-century booklet compiled prodigies attributed to the Virgin in the 17th and 18th centuries, such as the healing of a girl with gangrene in her leg (1618) when surgeons were about to amputate, or the extinguishing of a fire (1622) by placing the image in front of the burning street. These are devotional accounts collected by authors of the time, of a pious nature.

Patronage and coronation

She is the patron saint of El Bierzo and the city of Ponferrada. Her canonical coronation took place on September 8, 1908, as patron saint of all of El Bierzo.

Celebration and devotion

The Encina festivities are celebrated on September 8th, coinciding with the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, and in practice extend to September 8th and 9th. They are the main festivities of Ponferrada, an expression of the deep affection the people of El Bierzo have for their Morenica (the Virgin of the Holm Oak).

Link with the Rosary

The sources consulted do not mention a Rosary confraternity specifically linked to Our Lady of the Oak, nor a specific account of the Rosary under this title. In current pastoral practice, the Rosary is prayed before the Virgin, as in almost all Marian shrines.