Our Lady of the Sagrarian

Patrona de Toledo

The Virgin of the Sagrarian is the patron of Toledo and one of the most venerated Marian images of Spain. It is named after the Sagrarian of the Primate Cathedral, the place where, from ancient times, the most precious treasures of the temple and, above all, the Eucharistic presence are guarded.

The name and image

The title "of the Sagrarian" comes from the space of the cathedral where the image has been venerated since ancient times: the sacred, intended to keep the most sacred of the temple. The current effigy is a Romanesque size of the 13th century, made of walnut wood, which represents Mary sitting (sedent) with the Child in her lap. The image is silver-plated and dressed in a curved mantle of pearls.

Patrona de Toledo

The Toledans soon chose the Virgin of the Sagrarian as their patron. By the year 1300 an image of alabaster, the Virgin White, donated by Archbishop Gonzalo Pétrez, came to the chorus of the cathedral; but the city had already made his own to the Virgin of the Sagrarian, who always kept the first place in the heart of Toledo.

The party and the Octave

Las celebraciones comienzan cada 7 de agosto con una celebración litúrgica en la capilla del Sagrario, en la que se descubre el velo que protege a la Virgen y se la muestra revestida. Siguen los días del Octavario (del 7 al 14 de agosto) y culminan el 15 de agosto, solemnidad de la Asunción, con la Eucaristía presidida por el arzobispo primado. Es una de las fechas más entrañables del calendario religioso toledano.

Spiritual message

The Virgin of the Sagrarian unites Mary with the Eucharist in her own name: the Mother who keeps and presents her Son, present in the sacred of the altar. Toledo, the first place in Spain, finds in it a sign of fidelity to the faith received and transmitted for centuries.

Prayer to Our Lady of the Sagrarian