Anecdotes about the Virgin Mary

The miracles of the Virgin of Atocha in the Cantigas of King Alfonso X the Wise

Madrid (Spain)

The Virgin of Atocha is one of the oldest devotions of Madrid, before the village of the Austrias. The pious tradition goes back to apostolic times - carved by Nicodemus, brought from Antioch - but that is devout legend; the Historically safe is that his cult was already alive in the 13th centuryand from that we have an exceptional witness: Quantities of Santa Maria of the king Alfonso X the Wise, que cantan los milagros de «Santa María de Tocha de Madride«.

The first story is that of a Labrador who didn't keep on Sunday. He worked on the day of precept and suddenly his hands were held, unable to open them. Repent, he went to the Virgin of Atocha, and before her he regained the use of his hands. The Cantiga does not count it to scare, but to teach with tenderness that the Sunday rest is a gift of God, and that Mary accompanies him who turns to Him.

The second is even more entangled: a child choked with a spike and drowned. His mother, desperate, took him in his arms before the image of Atocha; and there, before the Virgin, the little one regained his breath and was saved. As early as the 13th century, a mother of Madrid ran with her child in danger at the feet of the Mother of God.

The beautiful thing about these two stories is that They're not late legend.: are written in a regent and contemporary source, from the 13th century, which makes them part of the documented history of the Madrid devotion. That each miracle should happen exactly so we cannot verify it; but it is clear that, eight hundred years ago, Madrid already ran to Atocha with its sick and children, and prayed to Mary with the trust of a child.