Anecdotes about the Virgin Mary

"The steps of the Remedies of Lamego"

Lamego, Douro (Portugal)

Above the city of Lamego, in the Douro region, on Mount Santo Estêvão, stands the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies, famous for its monumental Baroque and Rococo staircase, one of the most impressive architectural ensembles in Portugal. This devotion, so popular in the north of the country, evokes the Virgin Mary as a "remedy" and a source of help in times of need and illness.

The site was originally dedicated to Saint Stephen, with an old chapel on the hill. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, the image and devotion to Nossa Senhora dos Remédios (Our Lady of Remedies) were introduced, and between the 18th and 19th centuries, the current sanctuary and the grand staircase descending to the town were built. Every year, in late August and early September, the great pilgrimage to Nossa Senhora dos Remédios draws huge crowds, making it one of the country's largest festivals.

Let us distinguish between the two. The existence of the sanctuary with its Baroque staircase, the importance of the festivals and pilgrimages to Our Lady of Remedies, and the inscription of the devotion within the ancient Iberian tradition of the Virgin as a remedy for physical and spiritual ills are all documented. On the other hand, the accounts of healings and extraordinary favors received by those who climb the staircase or pray the novena, and the narratives of Lamego's protection against plagues, wars, and crises, belong to pious tradition: these usually come from oral tradition and devotional pamphlets, without systematic historical criticism. There is no official recognition of specific miracles.

The connection with the Rosary is alive and constant: the pilgrimage includes novenas, processions, and the recitation of the Rosary, and it is very common to recite it during the penitential ascent. However, there is no record of a founding event linked to the Rosary; it is the popular Marian prayer of the pilgrims.