Our Lady of the Way

Marian title of Valverde de la Virgen (Castilla y León)

Our Lady of the Way, the Virgin of the Way, is one of the great Marian devotions of the Leonese region. According to tradition, the Virgin appeared in 1505 to Pastor Alvar Simón Fernández, in the place where today the sanctuary rises, asking him to transfer the message to the bishop and to build a hermitage; this apparition is transmitted as a devotional legend. What is documented is the subsequent construction and consolidation of the sanctuary from the 16th century.

Main data

Origin and history

Our Lady of the Way, the Virgin of the Way, is one of the great Marian devotions of the Leonese region. According to tradition, the Virgin appeared in 1505 to Pastor Alvar Simón Fernández, in the place where today the sanctuary rises, asking him to transfer the message to the bishop and to build a hermitage; this apparition is transmitted as a devotional legend. What is documented is the subsequent construction and consolidation of the sanctuary from the 16th century.

The image and the sanctuary

The image is venerated in the Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Way, next to the N-120, in the municipal term Valverde de la Virgen (León). The present modern-style sanctuary was built between 1957 and 1961, the work of the architect Luis Moya. It is one of the most popular Marian shrines in Castile and León, and it retains numerous exvotes for cures and favors.

Sponsorship and coronation

He was declared patron of the Leonese Region by the Holy See in 1914. The canonical coronation was authorized by Benedict XV in 1917 and was carried out on September 19, 1918, according to the history of the sanctuary and diocesan documentation.

Party and devotion

The main feast is held on September 15, the feast of Our Lady of the Dolores, with a great rosemary. The devotion is also articulated with the Way of James, for many pilgrims pass through the sanctuary on their way to Compostela.

Link to the Rosary

There is no specific Rosary fellowship. The community Rosary is prayed in the sanctuary as an ordinary practice, but there is no unique historical link with the Rosary in the sources consulted.