The Virgin of Los Remedios () or Our Lady of Los Remedios (, ) is a title of the Virgin Mary developed by the

Trinitarian Order The Trinitarians, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives (; abbreviated OSsT), is a mendicant order of the Catholic Church for men founded in Cerfroid, outside Paris, in the late 12th century. From the very ou ...

, founded in the late 12th century. The devotion became tied to the ''

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

'' of Spain, then still at its height. In the following century it spread to other parts of Europe. When Spain began the exploration and conquest of the Americas, it was a favorite devotion of the Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

es. It remains a popular devotion in Spain and Latin America.

Name

The devotion was founded by the Trinitarian Order, whose full title is "Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives". According to Angelico Chavez, 'cannot be rendered properly into English. does mean “remedies” or “cures.” Some have translated it variously as "Our Lady of Remedies" or "of Help" or "of Ransom." The Spanish meaning as used here connotes all these ideas in one word.' Similar English words occur in other titles of Mary with separate histories, including " Our Lady of Ransom " (), "

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Our Mother of Perpetual Succour (), colloquially known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a 15th-century Byzantine art, Byzantine ico ...

" (), and "

Our Lady of Good Health Our Lady of Good Health ( ''Ārōkkiya annai''), also known as Our Lady of Vailankanni, is a Titles of Mary, title given to the Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church, Blessed Virgin Mary by devotees. She is said to have appeared twice in t ...

" ().

Spain

''El Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios'' is located in Olvera, where in the 18th century, where the sanctuary was built on the foundations of a small hermitage. ''Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios'' is the patron saint of Cártama, where she is said to have cured people affected by a plague epidemic in 1579."Fiesta en Honor Virgen de los Remedios (Our Lady of the Remedies Festivities). Cártama. April", Diputación de Málaga
/ref> The Virgin of Los Remedios is the patron saint of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna The Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna (), also called Diocese of Tenerife or Diocese Nivariense, is a diocese located in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in the Canary Islands and a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Roman ...

, the island of

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

, and the city of

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Mexico

It is believed that the best known image in the Western Hemisphere under this title of Mary was brought to Mexico by the ''conquistadores''. It is a small statue, measuring 27 cm (about 10.5 inches) in height. This image is strongly linked with the Spanish Conquest, especially the episode known as the '' Noche Triste'' or "Night of Sorrows". It is said Cortés led his men to an indigenous religious sanctuary to escape the Aztecs, stopping here on their way to Otumba. According to legend, one of Cortés's soldiers, Gonzalo Rodríguez de Villafuerte, was carrying a small image of the Virgin Mary and hid her under a maguey plant in order to retrieve and pay homage to her later if he survived. During a later battle in this area, the Spanish reported seeing a young girl throwing dirt into the eyes of the Aztecs to help the Spanish. Another legend states that this image appeared at the Cerro de los Pajaros, where a chapel was built in 1574, which later was expanded in 1628 with a vaulted roof and cupola. Being connected with the

Conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

, this image of the Virgin is considered to be “Spanish” and a patroness to them and to the indigenous who adopt Spanish ways. She is considered one of the Virgins who correlate with the four cardinal directions (in her case, the west), along with the Virgins of Guadalupe, of

la Piedad La Piedad is a municipality located at in the north-west of the Mexican state of Michoacán, bordering Jalisco and Guanajuato and being the northernmost municipality in Michoacán. The municipal seat is the city of La Piedad de Cabadas. The o ...

and de la Bala. Despite her importance to the area, this image was kept at the Mexico City Cathedral until 1810, when it was moved to her sanctuary in Naucalpan, dressed as a general. It was proclaimed a patroness of Spain and the “guardian of the Spanish Army.” The purpose of this was to counter

Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican Wa ...

’s use of the

Virgin of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, J ...

as a symbol of his independence movement. This image was center of one of the first annual processions to be held in Mexico, which went from the Church of Santa Veracruz in Mexico City to her home sanctuary in Los Remedios National Park. Its feast day is celebrated on September 1, when the sanctuary is profusely decorated with white flowers, including a carpet of flower petals in the San Miguel Arcangel esplanade. This sanctuary is not located in the mountainous western part of the municipality where Los Remedios National Park stands. Her feast day is celebrated with dances knowns as “Los Apaches,” “Los Moros,” “Chichimecas” and “Pastorcitas,” with 450th anniversary of her finding celebrated in 1990.

Brazil

* Catedral de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, in Caxias, Maranhão

References

External links