Marian devotion
Our Lady of the Oak
Patrona del Bierzo
Venerated in Ponferrada as the patron of the city and of the entire region of Bierzo, the Virgin of Encina accompanies the pilgrim of the Way of Santiago as it passes through these lands.
Origin and history
Tradition places the origin of devotion in the finding of the image within the trunk of an oak, in the area of Ponferrada; local accounts relate it to the concealment of the image in times of danger. The present basilica, raised and extended over the centuries, is the main Marian sanctuary of the Bierzo.
The Virgin of Encina was recognized as patron of Ponferrada and the region, with great romaneries around September 8. His canonical coronation, in 1908, confirmed the importance of this devotion in Bertian religious life.
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