SHRINE OF THE VIRGIN OF THE OAK (VIRGEN DE LA ENCINA)
IN ARTZINIEGA, SPAIN.
The Shrine of the Virgin of the Oak is a temple which is built over a pre-Roman (4th-5th c. A.D.) occupation, as confirmed by the discoveries made at the archaeological site and excavations inside the Sanctuary, during the second half of the XX Century.
According to a legend, the temple is built on the site where the image was found on an oak tree (shown in one of the pics, exact age of the tree is unknown but the devotion to the Virgin of Encina dates as early as the 12th c.); others maintain that the Virgin herself appeared on the site, as inscribed in the image of Our Lady with the Child Jesus on top of a column.
In 1404, Pope Benedict XIII established a Bull to support the important repairs to be made on the Sanctuary, and its current construction was concluded in 1498.
SEE AS WELL: MAIN ALTARPIECE, SHRINE OF THE VIRGIN OF ENCINA (ARTXINIEGA, SPAIN) in https://catholicsstrivingforholiness.com/2017/08/15/shrine-of-la-virgen-de-la-encina-artziniega-alava-spain/
