Tradition
The Sanctuary of the Virgin of Núria dates from 1911 and hosts the image of Mary crafted by Saint Gilles in the VII century, according to popular tradition.
Giles left his native Athens in search of a monastic life of peace and tranquility. Eventually he settled on the south coast of France between Arles and Nimes, where he allegedly built the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Gilles. Since the abbey was the first stopping point for pilgrims bound for Santiago de Compostela in Spain, it is entirely plausible that at some point he wandered into the mountains further up to Núria valley.
According to tradition, Saint Giles arrived in Vall de Núria around 700 AD, carrying with him a cross. He lived in a cave and enticed local shepherds to listen to the word of God by sharing the food he prepared in a copper pot, ringing a bell to alert them when meals were ready. Giles preached Christianity to the local populace for four years, until Arianism religious persecution. He fled, but not before secreting the pot, bell, cross, and an icon of the Virgin Mary that he had carved from walnut wood and painstakingly painted.
More than three centuries later, in 1072, an angel appeared in a dream to a pilgrim named Amadeo, telling him of a place marked with a white stone where St. Giles had hidden valuable objects. Amadeo found the marker boulder and built a small chapel honoring the Virgin on that spot with the help of locals, however he failed to find the precious treasures of Giles. One day, seven years after Amadeus had initially begun his search, “a bull with fiery red hair” started kicking a stone wall with his hoof. Recognizing that this was a sign, shepherds began digging through the rock. The moment they broke through, a bright light shone from the image of the Virgin. Next to her sat a cross, a bell and a copper pot.
Today these objects are displayed in the Hermitage of Saint Giles, a chapel constructed in the 17th century on the the site of the original built by Amadeo. The Romanesque sculpture of the Madonna and Child, officially known by the name Our Lady of Núria, sits on a high lintel in the upper floor of the church in the Sanctuary, from where she casts her benign gaze on visitors. That the beautifully polychromed, 22″ high Romanesque carving has since been dated to the 12th or 13th century rather than the 8th century has not diluted its veneration.
The Blessed Virgin is considered a patron saint of fertility and for hundreds of years couples have prayed before her and the cross to cure their infertility. Before leaving the chapel, the women place their head inside the pot while their husbands/lovers ring the bell overhead. Though there is no logical explanation, many of these couples report that they conceived following the ritual.
The canonical consecration of Our Lady of Núria was made in 1965. The name Núria is now a popular girl's name in Catalonia.
