According to tradition, during a tree felling in the Castelló forest, a miraculous image of the Virgin Mary was discovered inside a hackberry tree (lledó). Legend has it that this image had been hidden during the Saracen occupation. Although it was taken to the parish church, it supernaturally returned to the forest. Following this discovery, a chapel was built next to the miraculous hackberry tree, with construction work beginning in 1367.
Photo of the Cuyàs Family (n.d.)
Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya
Due to the growing devotion to the Virgin Mary, in 1376, the rights to the Lledó hermitage were ceded to the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre of Santa Anna in Barcelona, under whose authority it then fell. Later, in 1396, a priory of this order was established at the chapel. However, probably due to difficulties in sustaining the project, the canons abandoned the house and its custody in 1434. From that moment on, the sanctuary was managed by an administrator who had disputes and legal conflicts with Santa Anna in Barcelona regarding the rights of the Holy Sepulchre over Lledó. Despite this unstable situation, the sanctuary continued to enjoy widespread popular devotion.
In 1578, the Capuchins expressed their desire to settle in the lands of Tarragona, and they were granted the Church of Magdalena in Valls. However, they rejected this location due to its proximity to the town. Finally, in 1579, they established their monastery at the chapel of Sant Jeroni, a place with many shortcomings and more of a hermitage than a monastery. Because of this, the Archbishop of Tarragona proposed that they move to the Sanctuary of Lledó, a proposal that was accepted and formalized in 1586 with Santa Anna in Barcelona, which retained certain rights over the site. Thus, Lledó became the Convent of the Capuchins of Valls.
Goigs
Private collection
- BARRAQUER Y ROVIRALTA, Cayetano (1906). Las casas de religiosos en Cataluña durante el primer tercio del siglo XIX. Vol. 1. Barcelona: Imp. Fco. J. Altés
- BASILI DE RUBÍ (1977). Un segle de vida caputxina a Catalunya. 1564-1664. Barcelona: Caputxins de Sarrià
- GAVÍN, Josep M. (1980). Inventari d'esglésies. Vol. 6. Barcelona: Artestudi
- PUIGJANER Y GUAL, Francisco (1881). Historia de la Villa de Valls desde su fundación hasta nuestros días. Valls: Imp. Francisco Pellisser
- TUSET VALLET, Jordi (2001). Història del santuari de la Mare de Déu del Lledó. Valls: Institut d´estudis Vallencs
The sanctuary is located at the end of Passeig dels Caputxins, north of the city