Our Lady of Pastoriza

Arteixo (A Coruña)

In the skirt of the Suevos massif, near A Coruña, the shrine of Our Lady of Pastoriza is one of the most emblematic places of popular Galician religiosity, with deep rural roots and miraculous fame.

Origin and history

The sanctuary has been documented since at least the 13th century (first preserved date, 1592); it is a baroque church of the 17th century of Romanesque origin, with semicircular apse that recalls the medieval temple on whose site it was rebuilt. It retains an image of the Virgin dating back to the 13th century and a long tradition of miracles and exvotes.

The foundational legend, literally collected by Emilia Pardo Bazan, links the origins to the Suevo Requiario king (V century) and to the destruction of a first hermitage by Almanzor (h. 997); another tradition, linked to the name "Pastoriza," tells that a pastoralist girl saw a star on a stone and found under them the hidden image. They're legendary stories. Devotion has transcended Arteixo as an emblematic place of Galician piety.

Formal patronage and canonical coronation: no record.