Cuenca

Photo from the Facebook page of the Virgen de la Luz

Nuestra Senora de la Luz (Our Lady of the Light),
Santa Maria de la Puente (St. Mary of the Bridge)

In church Nuestra Senora de la Luz, also called San Anton, built in the 16th – 18th centuries to replace a smaller, 12th century hermitage of St. Mary of the Bridge. Her head and part of the torso carved from dark limestone in the 12th century.

The Black Madonna of the Light holds in her right hand a scepter, a world ball, and a lamp to rule and enlighten the world. In her left arm she carries Baby Jesus, who blesses the world she rules with him.

At her feet, a silver moon with an angel represents purity and victory over evil.

Our Lady of Light was called St. Mary of the Bridge in the 16th century. Her title changed to Our Lady of Light in the 18th century, because, according to tradition, she was discovered by King Alfonso VIII with the help of some shepherd in a cave on the banks of the Júcar river, holding a lighted lamp. This happened during the siege of the city prior to its reconquest from the Muslims.

The Legends of Our Lady of the Light

In the twelfth century, Christian forces tried again and again to reconquer Cuenca from the Muslims, who had held it since 714, but it seemed the city was impregnable without help from above.  Finally, in the year 1177, the King of Castile, Alfonso VIII decides to try again, this time with his ally Alfonso II of Aragon and the recently founded Christian military orders of Santiago and the Templars. From the start, he supposedly was encouraged and guided in this undertaking by visitations of the Virgen of the Light in his dreams.

Following her suggestions, the troops of Alfonso VIII besieged Cuenca on January 6th 1177, the feast of the Magi. Almost 9 months later, on September 21st 1177, the Muslim ruler of Cuenca surrendered and handed over the keys to the city.

What all happened in those roughly 9 months of siege about 800 years ago isn’t real clear, but somehow the Queen of Heaven got the credit for everything working out well for the Christians. If you take all the stories and put them together, you come up with something like this:

The Virgin Mary appeared to King Alfonso VIII in dreams, assuring him that the victory was going to be his in the end and also telling him about an old statue that the original Christian inhabitants of the town had hidden under the bridge. He sent his men to look for her, but the person She allowed to find her was a shepherd. Walking at night by the bridge, he noticed a strange light among the rocks. When he went to check it out, he saw the Virgin with a little oil lamp in her hand in the cleft between two rocks. Since she was found under the bridge, she was first called the Virgin of the Bridge and since she was found holding a light, she later became known as the Virgin of the Light.

Somehow, as in so many Black Madonna legends, animals and shepherds had a hand in finding the statue and – a unique feature of this story – in reconquering the city from the Muslims. Animals led the Christian soldiers to a secret entrance into the city and a Christian shepherd from Cuenca secured their entrance. The final battle was won when Christian troops donned sheep skins and entered Cuenca disguised as sheep surrounded by a real herd.

Her Honors

On February 9th 1949, the City Council appointed the Virgen de la Luz Honorary Mayor of the city.

On November 15, 1953, the baton of the Cuenca City Council was put in her hand and on June 1, 1956, the Provincial Council awarded her the Gold Medal of the Province. 

On June 1st 1950, having gathered 13,434 signatures for this cause, the Patroness of Cuenca was canonically crowned in 1950.

Her feast day is celebrated on June 1st with an all day procession through the city and evening festivities in the church that end at midnight with a special song to this Queen of Heaven and Earth.

As is common in the Catholic world, the church of this Virgin Morena (dark skinned Virgen) is dedicated to and called after two saints, Mary and Anthony. This is because the “Hospital Brothers of Saint Anthony” or “Antonines”, founded in c. 1095, did a lot of good for Cuenca during the Middle Ages. They were so good at treating the horrible, deadly disease ‘ergotism’ that the illness became known as ‘St. Anthony’s fire’ or ‘holy fire’.