Our Lady of the Sierra

The Mother of the Summit · Cabra (Cordoba)

At the top of the Sierra de Cabra, at more than a thousand meters high, stands the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Sierra, patron saint of Cabra and one of the great centers of Marian devotion in the diocese of Córdoba.

Origin and history

The local tradition of Cabra places the origin of the devotion in very ancient times, linking the discovery of the image to a find in the mountains—as is the case with other mountain devotions in Andalusia—with accounts of shepherds who found the image and established the cult in the elevated spot where the sanctuary stands today. These traditions, deeply rooted in Cabra, form part of popular piety and cannot be precisely dated with documentary evidence.

Historically, the existence of a Marian shrine in the Sierra de Cabra mountains is attested at least since the Middle Ages or the Early Modern period, with references to the Virgin of the Sierra as patron saint of the town and to pilgrimages and brotherhoods associated with her image. The shrine has undergone several renovations throughout the centuries, establishing itself as one of the most significant in the Diocese of Córdoba. According to local records, the image was canonically crowned in 1944.

The legendary discovery of the image belongs to local tradition. The year of canonical coronation (1944) comes from local devotional memory; it is advisable to confirm the dates and feast day in the diocesan calendar.