Romería

Culture

Art, feeling and tradition

Our Lady of Valme Pilgrimage

625
1

The Pilgrimage in honour of the Our Lady of Valme takes place in Dos Hermanas (Seville) on the third Sunday of October. The pilgrims carry the image from the Santa María Magdalena Church in Dos Hermanas to the Shrine at Cortijo del Cuarto in the Sevillian neighbourhood of Bellavista. This Pilgrimage is one of the most famous in Andalusia, drawing large crowds of up to 200,000 people each year.

The festival begins at six in the morning with a mass in the Santa María Magdalena Parish Church. At 8 in the morning, the image is transferred from the high altar to the cart that carries her to the Shrine at Cortijo del Cuarto. The official entourage is followed by male and female horse riders. Many devotees follow the Virgin Mary's cart on foot and in their own oxen-drawn cart decorated with paper flowers. Once at the Cortijo del Cuarto, around midday, the pilgrims spread out in groups to spend a fun day outdoors eating, singing and dancing sevillanas. People gather at the entrance to the Shrine to honour the Virgin Mary. At 6 in the afternoon, after the Rosary is prayed, the image is taken back to the Church.

In 1248, Fernando III the Saint fulfilled his promise to build a shrine to Our Lady of Valme after he re-conquered Seville, which was nothing short of miraculous, as his troops were in poor condition. Our Lady of Valme has been historically transferred to Dos Hermanas whenever there has been a long drought, epidemics and other catastrophes.

This pilgrimage was declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest under a Resolution of 15 June 1976.

Approximate data: October

Approximate date
Octubre

0 comments

New comment

The comments are moderated, so it takes a while to appear. If they contain offensive language they will not be published.