Our Lady of Valme

"Valame me, Lady!" · Dos Hermanas, Sevilla, Spain

From the cry of a king in the conquest of Seville - "Valame me, Lady!" - the title of Valme was born, according to tradition. Its October Romeria is one of the great Marian citations of Andalusia.

Origin and history

The tradition dates back to the time of the conquest of Seville by King Fernando III the Holy. During the siege of 1248, the king would have implored the help of the Virgin on the hill of Fourth with the plea "Valame, Lady!," a legendary origin of the title "Valme." Conquistada la ciudad, Fernando III habría ordenado edificar una hermita en el cortijo de Cuarto y entronizar aquí la imaga.

The venerated image is a 13th-century sedent Gothic size, with the Child on the left knee. The hermitage has been documented since the 14th century and the Brotherhood of Valme since the 17th century. The great Romeria of Valme, on the third Sunday of October, is today one of the most important devotional manifestations of Andalusia. The image was canonically crowned on June 23, 1973.