Logroño celebrates the day of its patron and mayor, the Virgin of Hope, on December 18. This festival has its origin in the siege suffered by the people of Logroño in 1521.
The City Council of Logroño programs several activities to commemorate the anniversary: concerts, folklore shows and floral offering. Various religious acts are also convened in the Co-Cathedral of Santa María La Redonda.
Patroness of the city since 1948
The Virgin of Hope is the religious patroness of Logroño by mandate of Pope Pius XII since May 14, 1948. The other patron saint of the city is San Bernabé (Saint Barnabas). The official proclamation was read on June 11 of that same year by the bishop of Orense, Don Francisco Blanco Nájera, at the Santa María de La Redonda Co-cathedral .
The beautiful gothic sculpture from the beginning of the 14th century representing the Virgin with the Child on her lap, traveled the streets of Logroño in procession together with San Bernabé, the other patron of the city, for the first time on June 11, 1921 in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the Siege of Logroño. On December 18, 1976, Logroño granted her the title of mayor of the city.
The image of the Virgin is found in the Church of Santiago El Real of Logroño. The Cofradía de la Virgen de la Esperanza (Brotherhood of Our Virgin of Hope) is the oldest of all the brotherhoods of Logroño, founded in 1612.
