The Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Gracia in San Lorenzo de El Escorial !!

Posted in Europe, Madrid, Spain

I am taking you to some off the beaten paths of my beloved Spain even if in very much visited town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial for reasons mentioned in previous posts, I like to update this older post with new text and links for you and me. Therefore, here is my take on the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Gracia in San Lorenzo de El Escorial !! Hope you enjoy the post as I

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The Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Gracia is located at Calle Floridablanca, 7.The Virgin of Grace was proclaimed Patroness of the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in the Plenary Session of the City/Town Hall held on August 30, 1946, this proclamation being renewed in 1995, on the occasion of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Pilgrimage. The Image of the Virgin of Grace is venerated throughout the year in its Sanctuary. On the day of the Pilgrimage (second Sunday of September) the Image moves to its Hermitage in the Bosque de la Herreria (blacksmith’s forest) , returning again at night to its Sanctuary.

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A bit of history I like tell us that the devotion to the Virgin of Grace (Gracia)   has its origin long before king Felipe II chose this region to build the Monastery dedicated to San Lorenzo. Tradition tells us that after the reconquest of the region, shepherds found the image in a cave, in the upper part of the highs of the Herreria (blacksmith), where a hermitage was later built to house it. The remains of this hermitage can still be located in the current Finca de los Ermitaños (Bosque de la Herrería). In that hermitage there were three altars, the central one was dedicated to Our Lady of Grace, the image had the Child in its arms. was a bulge image, of a rod of a little more or less, both the Virgin and the Child wore silver crowns. The Lady wore in her right hand a bronze or golden iron scepter, and that of the Child, at least, since 1645, some silver hazelnuts and a precious stone set in silver.

At the beginning of the 19C (between 1808 and 1809) the primitive Image of the Virgin of Grace was transferred to the Parish of San Lorenzo, which at that time was in the current Sanctuary of Calle Floridablanca. The primitive image of the Virgin of Grace was burned in 1936 (by republicans during the Spanish Civil War). To repair this terrible loss in 1941 the sculptor D. Mariano Benlliure was commissioned a new carving, that is the most accurate reproduction of the previous one. This new image, made in record time, was enthroned in the Parish of San Lorenzo on September 7, 1941.

The official parish of Nuestra Señora de Gracia in San Lorenzo de El Escorial : https://sanlorenzo.archimadrid.es/?page_id=54

The town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial on its history : https://www.aytosanlorenzo.es/historia/

The San Lorenzo de El Escorial tourist office on main sights to see : https://www.sanlorenzoturismo.es/visitar/

There you go folks, an easy walk from the monastery into quant nice San Lorenzo de El Escorial; and see something unique of my beloved Spain at the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Gracia. Again, hope you enjoy this post as I,

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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