Virgin of the Relief

Marian Invocation of Villamanta (Community of Madrid)

Patrona and Mayor Perpetua de Villamanta. The Invocation of Relief is of Acute origin, born in Palermo around 1306, and represents Mary protecting a child from the devil with his mantle. According to the local pious tradition, in 1613 a soldier of the Tercios de Flanders brought with him an ark with three identical images of the advocation of Relief; when it was opened, the three figures were found, two of which were sent to Cuenca and the third one was left in Villamanta. The Hermitage of Our Lady of Relief, built in the 16th century in masonry and brick, is the sanctuary of the image.

Main data

Origin and history

Patrona and Mayor Perpetua de Villamanta. The Invocation of Relief is of Acute origin, born in Palermo around 1306, and represents Mary protecting a child from the devil with his mantle. According to the local pious tradition, in 1613 a soldier of the Tercios de Flanders brought with him an ark with three identical images of the advocation of Relief; when it was opened, the three figures were found, two of which were sent to Cuenca and the third one was left in Villamanta. The Hermitage of Our Lady of Relief, built in the 16th century in masonry and brick, is the sanctuary of the image.

The image and the sanctuary

The image is venerated in the Hermitage del Socorro de Villamanta, municipality located in the southwest of the Community of Madrid, in the region of the Sagra-Alberche.

Sponsorship and coronation

Patrona and Mayor Perpetua de Villamanta. Canonically crowned on 30 April 2022, presided over by the bishop of Getafe, Don Ginés García Beltrán, in a massive event held in the municipal football field with over a thousand attendees. The ceremony was attended by images of virgins from neighbouring municipalities: the Virgin of the Poveda (Villa del Prado), Our Lady of the Village of Fresno, the Virgin of Navalcarrero, the Virgin of the Encinar of the Alberche and the Virgin of the Almudena of Madrid.

Party and devotion

21 May (5 to 24 May).

Link to the Rosary

The sources consulted do not show a specific or unique link between this devotion and the Rosary.