Our Lady of Peña de Francia, Marian devotion site in Peña de Francia, Spain
Our Lady of Peña de Francia is a mountaintop Marian sanctuary in Salamanca province that houses a wooden devotional image of the Virgin with the infant Jesus. The monastery and chapel together form an enclosed complex with courtyards, a small guesthouse, and rooms for the brothers who live there.
A shepherd named Simón Vela found the buried image in 1434 after experiencing visions, and it was restored and repainted several times in later periods. The Dominicans took charge of the site and built the present monastery building over the following centuries.
The name comes from the mountain peak where the sanctuary has welcomed pilgrims from across the region for centuries. The Dominicans still maintain the monastic life and guide visitors who come to pray before the sacred image or light a candle.
Access is by narrow mountain roads that are sometimes closed in winter, or by several hiking trails that climb up from surrounding villages. The guesthouse offers simple lodging, especially during the pilgrimage seasons in summer and autumn.
A team operates an astronomical observatory on the same peak, using the clear high-altitude air for sky observations. The scientists and the monks share the space, each with their own gaze turned upward.
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