Our Lady of Atocha is the Patron of the Royal House of Spain, Custodian of the Dominicans.
The Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha or Real Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Atocha is one of the three basilica churches in Madrid.
The buildings on the site have a long history. There was a the shrine to Our
Lady of Atocha, a Spanish contraction for “Theotokos”, meaning “Mother
of God,” or a simplification of “Antiocha” which in the 12th Century
under this title was already ancient and beloved.
Our Lady of Atocha chapel was already in Madrid when there was only a field of
reeds and a hermitage. The Moor and the Muslim times came – they respected her
and left her alone.
When Toledo was sacked in 1170, she remained there, but at some point some sculptures dissappeared.
The original name "Atocha" refers to
a lost sculpture of Our Lady, from this former chapel, which was found among some high
grasses, (called Tocha) during the time of the Reconquista.
The parish was entrusted to the Dominican Order in 1523, and still is today.
In 1525 Charles V brought her his bride and asked her blessing upon their marriage; Don Juan of Austria, departing for the Battle of Lepanto, knelt at her feet and pledged his sword to her; after his victory he sent in thanksgiving his sword to her along with the captured Moorish banners.
Despite all these trappings of the high and wealthy, she still remains Our Lady of all the people, beloved of kings and farmers, such as St Isidore.
In 1863, the temple was elevated to the rank of Basilica by Pius IX
The old church was in disrepair and rebuilt in the 1890s in a Neo-Byzantine style designed by Fernando Arbós y Tremanti. The church was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and reconstruction completed in 1951.
Atocha is Madrid’s royal shrine: there is not a Spaniard of public importance for a thousand years who would not kneel to ask her help. Her gowns are made from the bridal gowns of queens
When Toledo was sacked in 1170, she remained there, but at some point some sculptures dissappeared.
The original name "Atocha" refers to
a lost sculpture of Our Lady, from this former chapel, which was found among some high
grasses, (called Tocha) during the time of the Reconquista.The parish was entrusted to the Dominican Order in 1523, and still is today.
In 1525 Charles V brought her his bride and asked her blessing upon their marriage; Don Juan of Austria, departing for the Battle of Lepanto, knelt at her feet and pledged his sword to her; after his victory he sent in thanksgiving his sword to her along with the captured Moorish banners.
Despite all these trappings of the high and wealthy, she still remains Our Lady of all the people, beloved of kings and farmers, such as St Isidore.
In 1863, the temple was elevated to the rank of Basilica by Pius IX
The old church was in disrepair and rebuilt in the 1890s in a Neo-Byzantine style designed by Fernando Arbós y Tremanti. The church was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and reconstruction completed in 1951.
Atocha is Madrid’s royal shrine: there is not a Spaniard of public importance for a thousand years who would not kneel to ask her help. Her gowns are made from the bridal gowns of queens
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