Virgin of the Angustias

Patrona de Granada

The Virgin of the Angustias is the great Marian devotion of the city of Granada. The advocation of Our Lady of the Angustias is spread in Spain from the 16th century, linked to devotion to the Dolores of Mary. The fellowship of the Virgin of the Angustias is documented in the mid-16th century, with first seat in the church of the convent of the Holy Angel Custodius and then in the present sanctuary.

Main data

Origin and history

The Virgin of the Angustias is the great Marian devotion of the city of Granada. The advocation of Our Lady of the Angustias is spread in Spain from the 16th century, linked to devotion to the Dolores of Mary. The fellowship of the Virgin of the Angustias is documented in the mid-16th century, with first seat in the church of the convent of the Holy Angel Custodius and then in the present sanctuary.

The image and the sanctuary

The image is venerated in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angustias, in Granada, regained by the Sacramental Brotherhood and Archicofrady of the Virgin of the Angustias. The current granadine image is a size of the 17th century granadine school, traditionally attributed to Juan Martínez Montañés, although the current studies attribute it rather to the circle of José de Mora or Pedro de Mena; the authorship is not unanimous. The basilica is full of exvotes, some very ancient, testimonies of favors attributed to the Virgin (cures, avoided accidents, protection in war), collected and exposed by the Brotherhood itself as a grateful memory.

Sponsorship and coronation

She is a patron of the city of Granada and its archdiocese. The canonical coronation took place on 20 September 1913, by Archbishop José Meseguer, in a mass event.

Party and devotion

The great popular day is the last Sunday of September, celebrated in Granada as a great patron party, with the famous floral and fruit Ofrenda, in which thousands of granadinos offer the Virgin flowers and products of La Vega and the province. On September 15, the liturgical memory of Our Lady of the Dolores also has special worship. The Ofrenda is a devotional gesture that links popular religiosity to granadine identity.

Link to the Rosary

La Archicofradía organiza rezos públicos del Santo Rosario y cultos marianos en septiembre y en otras fechas; el rezo del Rosario forma parte estable de la piedad en la basílica, aunque no se trate de una advocación específicamente «del Rosario». No consta una cofradía histórica propia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario vinculada específicamente a esta imagen.