Our Lady of the Miracles (Palos)

The Virgin of La Rabida · Palos de la Frontera (Huelva)

Patrona de Palos de la Frontera and venerated in the monastery of La Rabida, Our Lady of the Miracles is the only image of Spain crowned by a Pope in person: John Paul II, who named her "Mother of Spain and of America."

Origin and history

The image is a Gothic sculpture in alabaster, small format, dating back to the mid-14th century, closely linked to the Franciscan monastery of La Rábida, from where Columbus and the sailors of Palos were commissioned before the 1492 journey. The legendary tradition is the work of Saint Luke brought to Palos in 333, a story without historical basis.

Patrona de Palos "from time immemorial," was proclaimed canonical patroness by Paul VI in 1967. On June 14, 1993, St. John Paul II personally crowned her - the only Marian image of Spain crowned by a Roman Pontiff in person - and entitled her "Mother of Spain and America."