Mary Most Holy of Hope Macarena

Patron saint of Seville

Our Lady of Hope of Macarena is one of the most celebrated Marian devotions in Seville. As a documented fact, it is a Baroque image of the Virgin of Sorrows, most likely from the mid-17th century. The traditional attribution to Luisa Roldán, "La Roldana," is disputed; current research tends to point to an "anonymous author from the circle of Pedro Roldán," as no contract survives to prove it. According to tradition, the devotion grew gradually in the humble Macarena neighborhood, especially from the 19th century onward, linked to miracles and favors recorded in votive offerings and chronicles of the brotherhood.

Main data

Origin and history

Our Lady of Hope of Macarena is one of the most celebrated Marian devotions in Seville. As a documented fact, it is a Baroque image of the Virgin of Sorrows, most likely from the mid-17th century. The traditional attribution to Luisa Roldán, "La Roldana," is disputed; current research tends to point to an "anonymous author from the circle of Pedro Roldán," as no contract survives to prove it. According to tradition, the devotion grew gradually in the humble Macarena neighborhood, especially from the 19th century onward, linked to miracles and favors recorded in votive offerings and chronicles of the brotherhood.

The image and the sanctuary

The image is venerated in the Basilica of Santa María de la Esperanza Macarena, home of the Brotherhood of La Macarena, in the Macarena district of Seville. The basilica was consecrated in 1949. During the Spanish Civil War, the image was hidden in an attic of the dressing room to prevent desecration; the brotherhood itself preserves testimonies and documentation about this safekeeping, and since then, La Macarena has been invoked as a protector in times of crisis.

Patronage and coronation

She is not the principal patron saint of Seville, a title that belongs to the Virgin of the Kings. The canonical coronation took place on May 31, 1964, by Cardinal Bueno Monreal, authorized by Saint John XXIII, the decree being from 1963. The coronation and the construction of the basilica are extensively documented by the brotherhood and in the press of the time.

Celebration and devotion

The liturgical feast day is December 18th, the feast of Our Lady of Hope, with the main service taking place during the novena in December. The procession begins in the early hours of Good Friday, a penitential procession to the Cathedral, one of the most popular and beloved of Seville's Holy Week.

Link with the Rosary

The brotherhood regularly prays the Rosary (morning Rosary and internal services). There is no record of the devotion originating from a Rosary confraternity, nor a Marian title "of the Rosary" for the image; the connection is a general devotional one, through public and private Rosaries, and not a specific institutional one.