Our Lady of Peña de Francia

In 1434, the French pilgrim Simón Vela discovered a Romanesque image of the Virgin Mary on the remote peak of Peña de Francia in the Sierra de Francia, Salamanca. A priory and pilgrimage sanctuary grew around this miraculous find, becoming a cherished center of Castilian Marian devotion focused on perseverance and care for pilgrims in difficult mountain terrain.

In 1434, a French pilgrim named Simón Vela, moved by interior locutions recorded in pious accounts, discovered a Romanesque image of Mary on the peak of Peña de Francia in the Sierra de Francia mountains of Salamanca, Spain. This discovery occurred in a remote and challenging location, far from settled lands.

Following the discovery of the sacred image, a priory was established on the mountain peak to serve as a sanctuary and to care for pilgrims who undertook the difficult journey to venerate Mary. Over time, the site became an important center of pilgrimage and Marian devotion throughout Castile and the wider region.

The spiritual message associated with the sanctuary emphasizes perseverance in seeking the intercession of Mary and the virtue of hospitality toward pilgrims traveling through harsh mountain terrain. The sanctuary's remote location itself became part of its spiritual character, inviting pilgrims to undertake sacrifice and effort in their devotion.

The image of Our Lady of Peña de Francia remains at the heart of devotion at the sanctuary. Pilgrims continue to reach the shrine by mountain road and footpath, maintaining the tradition of arduous pilgrimage that has characterized the site since its foundation in the fifteenth century.

The shrine has received diocesan approval and remains an active center of Marian devotion. The sanctuary continues to serve both as a place of prayer and as a testimony to the enduring faith of the Castilian people in the maternal intercession of Mary.