Our Lady of Covadonga

A statue of the Virgin Mary, hidden in one of the caves, was believed to have miraculously aided the Christian victory.

According to texts written in northern Iberia during the ninth century, they elected in 718 a man named Pelayo, or Pelagius, as their leader.

According to tradition Pelayo retreated to a cave where a hermit had secreted a statue of the Virgin Mary, saved from the Muslim conquest.

And in recognition of this miraculous intercession, King Alfonso I, the Catholic (739-757) commanded that a monastery and chapel be built on the site in honor of Our Lady of Covadonga.

The basilica houses[citation needed] the current statue of Our Lady of Covadonga, dating to the 16th century.