The Virgen de la Almudena is the patron saint of Madrid and each November 9 a festival is held in her honor. Her connection to the city dates back, according to tradition, to the year 1085, although official recognition came centuries later.
Tradition says that the Christians of Madrid hid the image of the Virgin in one of the wall towers of the fortification wall to protect it during the Muslim conquest of the peninsula, at the beginning of the 8th century. There it would have remained for more than 300 years.
After the conquest of Madrid by Alfonso VI, the monarch would have organized a procession to search for the image, after having promised to recover it if he managed to take Toledo. On November 9, 1085, during the route along the wall of the Puerta de la Vega, part of the wall came loose and revealed the figure of the Virgin.
The name Almudena is related to the Arabic term al-mudayna, which means citadel or walled enclosure. The name refers to the place where, according to tradition, the image was found.
From popular devotion to official patronage
The Virgin was venerated for centuries by the inhabitants of Madrid. In 1646, the City Hall carried out the so-called Voto de Villa, a commitment of annual attendance at the religious celebration that, according to the Archdiocese, has been maintained ever since.
The image was canonically crowned on November 10, 1948. In 1977, Pope Paul VI declared her the principal patron saint of the Archdiocese of Madrid. This ecclesiastical recognition was added to the patronage of the city that had been established by Pius X in 1908.
Today, the image is located in the Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena, where it was enthroned on June 15, 1993, after the dedication of the temple by Pope John Paul II.