The Santa Cueva de Nuestra Señora de Covadonga (English: the Holy Cave of Our Lady of Covadonga) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

located in

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

, northern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. It is a cave in the Picos de Europa mountains, which gives its name to the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Covadonga Covadonga ( Asturian: ''Cuadonga'', from ''cova domnica'' "Cave of Our Lady"Juan Gil Fernández, José L. Moralejo, Juan Ignacio Ruiz de la Peña, ''Crónicas asturianas'', Universidad de Oviedo, 1985, p. 203.) is one of 11 parishes in Can ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Cangas de Onís Cangas de Onís ( Asturian: ''Cangues d'Onís'' "valleys of Onís"'' Canga'' (plural ''cangues'') is an Asturian word for "valley, canyon".) is a municipality in the eastern part of the province and autonomous community of Asturias in the nor ...

. The name refers to the sanctuary, dedicated to the

Virgin of Covadonga Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

, where the first

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

of the '' Spanish Reconquest'' took place in 718.

Description and history

The origin of the cave as place of cult is controversial. It seems to have been originally another place of confluence of Pagan Cult (in this case a fountain and cave together, seen as holy sites) as the Old English Wilweorthunga, meaning "well of worship" had been in Prehistorical times and still during the Roman Empire occupation. The Christian tradition has it that

Pelagius Pelagius (; c. 354–418) was a British theologian known for promoting a system of doctrines (termed Pelagianism by his opponents) which emphasized human choice in salvation and denied original sin. Pelagius and his followers abhorred the moral ...

, chasing a criminal, who had taken refuge in the cave, meets a hermit who was venerating the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

. The hermit asked Pelagius to forgive the criminal, since the criminal had resorted to the protection of the Virgin, and says that one day that he too would need to seek shelter in the Cave. Muslim chronicles about the Battle of Covadonga say that in this cave Pelagius's forces fled, feeding on honey bees left in the crevices of the rock. Christian chronicles claim that the miraculous intervention of the Virgin Mary was crucial in the victory, repelling attacks against the cave. The first construction in the Holy Cave dates back of the reign of

Alfonso I of Asturias Alfonso I of Asturias, called the Catholic (''el Católico''), (c. 693 – 757) was the third King of Asturias, reigning from 739 to his death in 757. His reign saw an extension of the Christian domain of Asturias, reconquering Galicia and L ...

, who, to commemorate the victory of Pelagius to the Muslims, built a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

dedicated to the Virgin Mary, that would give rise to the invocation of the

Our Lady of Covadonga Our Lady of Covadonga also named "La ''Santina''" is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the name of a Marian shrine devoted to her at Covadonga, Asturias. The shrine in northwestern Spain rose to prominence following the Battle of Covadonga in ...

(popularly known as ''La Santina''). In addition to the altar dedicated to the Virgin, two others were built for

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

and

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...

. Alfonso presented this church to the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monks. The cave was covered with wood, and in 1777 a fire destroyed the medieval Marian statue. The current wooden image of Virgin and Child dates to the 16th century and was donated to the sanctuary by the

Cathedral of Oviedo The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Saviour or Cathedral of San Salvador ( es, Catedral Metropolitana Basílica de San Salvador, la, Sancta Ovetensis) is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in the centre of Oviedo, in the Ast ...

in 1778. During the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

the Virgin image disappeared and was found in the Embassy of Spain in France in 1939. The present chapel of Romanesque style is the work of Luis Menéndez-Pidal and Alvarez.

Royal pantheon of Covadonga

The shrine of Covadonga was very important for the early (8th century) Christian

kingdom of Asturias The Kingdom of Asturias ( la, Asturum Regnum; ast, Reinu d'Asturies) was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the Visigothic nobleman Pelagius. It was the first Christian political entity established after the Umayyad conquest of ...

. Members of the royal family buried in the ' ( en, Royal Pantheon (or Mausoleum) of Covadonga), were the following: * Pelagius of Asturias (died 737). First king of Asturias and son of Duke Favila. * Queen Gaudiosa, Pelagius's wife. * A sister of the King Pelagius. *

(693-757). Third king of Asturias, son of

Peter of Cantabria Peter ( la, Petrus, es, Pedro; died 730) was the Duke of Cantabria. While various writers have attempted to name his parentage, (for example, making him son or brother of King Erwig), early sources say nothing more specific than the chronicle of ...

, Duke of Cantabria. * Queen Ermesinda. Alfonso I's wife, daughter of King Pelagius and Queen Gaudiosa, and sister of the King

Favila of Asturias Favila or Fafila (died 739) was the second King of Asturias from 737 until his death. He was the only son and successor of Pelagius, the first Asturian monarch. In 737 he founded the Church of Santa Cruz, in his capital of Cangas de Onís, but ...

. Pelagius died in

, where he had his court in 737. After his death, his body was buried in the Church of Santa Eulalia of Abamia, located in the Asturian town of Abamia, where his wife had been also previously buried. The chronicler Ambrosio Morales noted in his work that

Alfonso X the Wise Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...

, king of Castile and Leon, ordered to move the remains of Pelagius and his wife to the Holy Cave of Covadonga.

References

External links

*
Real Sitio de Covadonga
{{coord, 43.3089, N, 5.0564, W, source:wikidata, display=title Buildings and structures in Asturias Shrines to the Virgin Mary

Tourist attractions in Asturias Religion in Asturias Landforms of Asturias Burials in Spain Pelagius of Asturias Roman Catholic shrines in Spain

Description and history

Royal pantheon of Covadonga

See also

References

External links