Our Lady of Miracles

Patron of the island of Corvo · Azores

On the small island of Corvo, the most remote of the Azores, venerates Nossa Senhora dos Milagres, patron of the island. Its 16th century flamenco image, formerly called the Rosary, bears a crown and rosary of gold and is held by Corvo's protector in all danger.

Origin and history

The first temple of Corvo was a hermitage by the sea under the title of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, which already housed this flamenco image of the 16th century. After the attack of the Berber pirates of 1632, which devastated the hermitage, the image began to be invoked as Nossa Senhora dos Milagres. Local tradition tells that the Virgin protected the island by turning the pirates back; this story belongs to the devotional legend, while the attack is documented.

Corvo was erected in the parish in 1674, dedicated to Nossa Senhora dos Milagres, and the current parent church was built around 1795. The headline image, a flamenco (from Malinas) size of the Virgin with the Child, is the main treasure of the temple: it is venerated with crown and rosary of gold and embroidery blankets, expression of the gratitude of the corvines for their protection.

The legend of the bullets returned to the pirates belongs to tradition; the documented is the attack of 1632 and the subsequent change of title.