The Hermandad y Cofradía Nuestra Señora del Socorro (Brotherhood and Sisterhood of Our Lady of Succour) informs of the events commemorating the election of the Virgen del Socorro as Patron Saint of the City of Tíjola which will begin on Saturday 15th April with the opening of the Church of Santa María at 10:00 hours, which will remain open until 13:30 hours.
During the course of the morning there will be a food collection for the residents of Tíjola who need it most. At 12:00 there will be the recitation of the Regina Coeli, the Easter prayer, and at 12:30 there will be a reception for the municipal Corporation.
In the afternoon, at 19:30 hours the recitation of the Holy Rosary will take place and at 20:00 hours the Holy Eucharist commemorating the 448th Anniversary of the Patronage of Our Lady of Succour over the City of Tíjola.
Finally, on 17th April, the day on which Our Mother and Lady of Succour was proclaimed Patron Saint, the recitation of the Holy Rosary will take place at 19:30 hours and the celebration of the Eucharist of Thanksgiving for the 448 Years of Protection of the City of Tíjola at 20:00 hours.
Tradition has it that the image arrived from Italy with the Tercios who came to put down the Moorish rebellion in 1568. Once the conflict was over and the area repopulated, the image of the Virgen del Rosario presided over the altarpiece in the parish church, accompanied by the image of the Virgen del Socorro that the soldiers of Don Juan de Austria had left behind after their passage through the town.
On 17th April 1575, in gratitude for the favours received, the villagers chose the Virgen del Socorro as their «Advocate and Help», building her a hermitage which is now 448 years old.