The Virgin Guide
Alcaracejos, Spain (13th c.)
Four Sierra Morena towns share the custody and patronage of the Virgin of Guidance: Fuente la Lancha, Villanueva del Duque, Hinojosa del Duque, and Alcaracejos.
One legend says that a herder found the Virgin's statuette in the hollow of a oak tree whose acorns bore a similar image on their caps. Another says that the herder found it in the basin of a fountain, and tried to bring it home.
But when he got home, the image was gone. The next day, he found it in the same place, and the same thing happened: the man tried again to take it home, but it mysteriously returned. The original bronze statue was lost during the Civil War; the present image is a replica made in 1939. On February 24 each year, the statue is carried from Villanueva to Alcaracejos to stay until Easter.
Text and image used with permission.
Source: "365 Days with Mary" by Michael O'Neill
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