Monuments

Ancient history, dating from the Christian Reconquest.

The construction of this sanctuary has an ancient story to it, stemming from the time of the Christian Reconquest: in the late 10th century, nuns fleeing the troops of Almançor, the Caliph of Cordoba, hid an image of the Virgin under a boulder, covering a small grotto. In 1493, the image was uncovered by a 12-year-old shepherdess named Joana, who found it after squeezing through the narrow crevasse. Joana was mute, but when her mother tried to cast the image into a fire she recovered her speech. 

News of the miracle spread through the region, giving rise to a cult and pilgrimages to the spot. The first devotees enthroned the image within the grotto, and it was widely believed that anyone would be able to pass through the narrow slit unless they had committed some serious sin. 

In 1498, a first chapel was erected next to the rock, and in 1576 the shrine was entrusted to the priests of the Company of Jesus, based in Coimbra, who then built the present sanctuary that houses the boulder inside. The work, which denotes baroque and Filipino architectural influences, was completed in 1635. Later, in 1685, they began the construction of the Jesuit College adjoining the chapel.

The Feast of Our Lady of the Boulder is celebrated every year on August 15 and continues to attract thousands of pilgrims. Inside the sanctuary, besides the altarpieces and the niche dedicated to Our Lady of the Boulder, you can admire the altars of the Crucifixion and the Death of St. Joseph, as well as numerous donations offered throughout the centuries by national and foreign pilgrims. Among them stands the image of a giant lizard that hangs from the ceiling, donated by a believer who escaped a crocodile attack in India.