The saint is seen as the Patron Saint of the region of León, in Spain, and is considered a representation of the Virgin Mary for her wise and just decisions.
People pray to her for comfort and job improvements, road safety and protection in general.
The Vatican appointed the Virgin of the Way Patron of the Region of León since 1914 and there is even a Basilica in honor of the Virgin, which belongs to the Dominican order. She is an invocation of the Virgin Mary.
La Virgin It is part of the Camino de Santiago Francés and is the center of an important pilgrimage in honor of San Froilán on October 5, when thousands of people come from all the regions to the sanctuary to pray for protection and safety.
History of the Virgen del Camino
According to legend around 1505, a shepherd from Velilla de la Reina named Alvar Simón Fernández, was collecting his cattle when the Virgin Mary appeared to him in El Humilladero, where there has always been a hermitage.
This invocation was given the name of Virgin of the Way.
The Holy See appointed her as Patroness of the Kingdom of León since 1738 and in 1914 Pope Pius X changed the previous title to Principal Patroness of the Region of León.
Pope Benedict XV granted that she could be canonically crowned in 1930 and during the Spanish Civil War, on May 19, 1938, she was granted the title of Perpetual Ruler of the city of León.
She is also known as Patron of the highways and Honorary and Perpetual Councilor of the Valverde de la Virgen town hall.
Travelers and walkers ask for her protection, because the Virgin knows of the difficulties encountered on the roads when she herself undertook a long journey.
To ask the Holy Virgin to intercede, to provide firmness and courage in our steps, this powerful Traveler's prayer to the Virgin of the way..To see Click here
The Virgin of the Roads in Cuba
In Cuba, the monument of the artist Rita Longa that exists from 1948 to the Virgin of the Way It is a symbol of Havana.
It is not yet known if the main source of inspiration for the artist is the same Virgin of the Way Spanish, but still, Cubans venerate her as a benevolent mother, an image of good luck and a prophet of new and better ways.
Also, in the Afro-Cuban religion, a product of the process of transculturation between African and Spanish cultures, the Virgin protector of the roads, syncretized with the Orisha of the Yoruba religion Nana Buruku, which is the wise grandmother, strength and ancestral knowledge.
Powerful spirituality is attributed to it, as it governs the springs, the mouths of the rivers, the swamps and the lagoons.
The Orisha is also a mediator between life and death, the bearer of great evil. Naná is an ancient powerful force that goes mainly in the head of the believer, even before the arrival of the deity Oduduwa. It is told in the legends that it feeds on the spirit of beings.
Both deities, the Yoruba orisha and the Spanish Virgin, are asked for protection and guidance on the difficult paths of life.
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