The sanctuary of the Verge del Remei is located in the comarca (local district) of El Pla d’Urgell (Spain), between Tàrrega and Balaguer, and is rather curiously attached to Penelles, a village which does not form part of this comarca.

Ancient tradition tells us that in these parts there were once many flocks which, with their shepherds, lent a placid image to these lands. According to legend, when the shepherds of Boldú were taking their flocks to drink at some troughs, one of the animals simply stood looking at the trough, without drinking. The shepherds, who realized that something was wrong, approached the drinking trough and were surprised to see what it was that had made the sheep stand there in such a way; there, inside the trough they discovered an image of the Virgin Mary.

A chapel was built on the site for its veneration, but as it was too small to accommodate the numerous devotees, it was soon decided to enlarge it. The devotion to the Verge del Remei at this sanctuary has grown considerably since the end of the 19th Century. The master Lluís Millet, founder and director of the Orfeó Català (Catalan choral society), was commissioned by the family that owned the original chapel to compose the inspired "Prayer to the Virgin of Remei". The lyrics were added by Esteve Suñol and it was interpreted by the Orfeó Català and was soon known and sung all over Catalonia.

The constant rise in the number of visitors to the site, above all on the day of the annual pilgrimage, made it necessary to build a more spacious sanctuary. This was the work of the architect Anton Fisas, with paintings being provided by Josep Obiols. It was finally inaugurated on 13th June 1954 by bishop Ramon Iglesias, in front of a large crowd.

Source and photographic archive: JOAN BELLMUNT I FIGUERAS

Ivars d'Urgell (El Pla d’Urgell - Spain) is currently in the news because of the restoration of the famous Estany (lake) d’Ivars d'Urgell and Vila-sana, but there is another feature that makes a visit to this village obligatory: the the sanctuary of the Mare de Déu de l'Horta.

Visitors will finds this interesting sanctuary at a location that was previously on the outskirts of the village (among fruit orchards) but which now forms part of the village itself. It is also next to a marvellous natural area which is a major local attraction in itself, while the surrounding park is very well conserved and instils the site with an atmosphere of peace and quiet on all four sides. Little is known about the image and the building of the sanctuary.

Apparently, at the end of the 16th Century and at the beginning of the 17th Century people already used to talk of the sanctuary as a very old feature erected by their distant ancestors. This would support the hypothesis that the first chapel or hermitage built here was to house and venerate an image which could have dated from the end of the Romanesque period, when the Holy Child was displaced from the middle towards the side of the maternal lap. This could have been the first image. However, a second image, which features in the iconography of verses in honour of the Virgin and also in printed publications, shows a standing Virgin. According to personal testimonies, this was the image that was burnt during the civil war. The present image could therefore be the third. It replaced its predecessor on 12th September 1940 and seems to have been made as a reproduction of the original figure.

From an architectural point of view, the sanctuary was built in the style of Renaissance-Baroque transition. It is made of stone, with a single nave and an iron grille at the entrance. Next to the sanctuary is the house, whose entrance is framed with semi-circular arches supported on wide-based columns. Nowadays a religious gathering is celebrated on the first Sunday in September. This is usually well attended, to the point that mass often has to be held in the open area in front of the sanctuary.

Source and photographic archive: JOAN BELLMUNT I FIGUERAS

Getting to Bellvís (El Pla d’Urgell - Spain) is simple as the Lleida-Barcelona dual carriageway passes Bell-lloc and after turning off at this junction, visitors will find themselves only four kilometres from the village. From this point, there is also a road that is in very good condition. The growth of Bellvís gathered momentum and its fame passed from mouth to mouth thanks to the fact that it was the place where the Virgin Mary appeared to the Sidamon farmer Joan Amorós in the year 1190. The event took place on Saturday 26th October of that year, in a place half-way between Bellvís and Els Arcs.

Joan Amorós apparently died in 1211 and thereafter it was the order of the Trinitarians who became the site’s official guardians. In 1583 they established themselves at the sanctuary, a fact which we know from the act of 14th July 1589. On 12th October 1592, Pope Clement VIII confirmed possession of the sanctuary by the Trinitarians and ordered that it be presided over by the senior minister and eight professed monks. It was due to this papal bull that, on 11th August 1595, the members of the Trinitarian order took possession of the sanctuary of les Sogues, which they presided over until the dissolution of the year 1835. The temple dates from its origins, probably in the 12th or 13th Century, until the sale of church lands in the 19th Century. Obviously, a building with such a long life would have undergone several processes of reformation in the course of its history. Later would come years of decline, collapse, ruins...


In the year 1977 the Pious School priest Segimon Balagué Salvia started restoration work and encouraged the local inhabitants to clean, excavate and recover the temple. In the course of their work they found the original foundations of the church, cut into the sandstone, as well as several different tombs and other complementary buildings. Later, to the east of where the sanctuary had originally stood, a boat-shaped house was built according to a project presented by the architect Jordi Mir: this was completed in the year 1983.

On 5th May 1985, and under the enthusiastic influence of Father Segimon Balagué, the Patronage of the House of the Mare de Déu de les Sogues was constituted, which from the outset worked in the interest of this historical place with an admirable spirit of service. All of its members work to fulfil the conditions of the testament left to them by the good Pious School priest and make a reality his plan for: "conserving and improving the hill of les Sogues". Although concise, this objective is also grand and fundamental.

Trees and rose bushes have now been planted all around the sanctuary, which has conferred the site with a beautiful splash of nature that accompanies and reinforces its historical and devotional character. The grand pilgrimage is celebrated on the first Sunday in May.

Source and photographic archive: JOAN BELLMUNT I FIGUERAS