March 5

Santa Maria de la Cruz, Cubas, Madrid, Spain

In 1449, Inés Martínez, 12, saw the Virgin six times, from March 3 to 19. Dressed in gold, the beautiful Lady appeared to the girl while she was herding pigs. On March 9, Mary took a cross from Inés and planted it to mark the location of her desired shrine, which later became a Franciscan convent. For many years this anniversary was celebrated with a procession from the town to the rural sanctuary, where the nuns would expose the cross. During the Civil War, eight sisters were martyred and the shrine burned. In 1988, rebuilding began. On March 5, 1994, the new church was dedicated and the Bishop of Getafe designated it a Diocesan Sanctuary. The new convent is home to Clarissan nuns, and in recent years, the March 9 pilgrimage has been revived.