Virgin of the Novena

On nearby Calle del León, one of Madrid’s early 17th-century “Mentideros” (gathering spots for gossip and news) was located—the one for actors and performers. The area was close to the city's most important playhouses, such as the Corral del Príncipe and the Corral de la Cruz. For this reason, the neighborhood was frequently visited by actors, writers, and people from the theatrical world.

It is on this street that the legend of the miracle of the Virgin of the Novena began—a story with multiple versions and many unknowns, as is often the case with the miraculous tales of Madrid. It is said that an image of the Virgin of Silence, displayed in a house on that street (as was common for popular devotion at the time), became the focus of a novena prayed by actress Catalina Flores, who had become paralyzed after a difficult childbirth.

On the ninth day, she was miraculously healed. The news of the miracle spread quickly, and the influx of devotees became so great that it led to the founding of a congregation and the establishment of a chapel in the nearby Parish of San Sebastián. The actors chose this Virgin as their patroness and contributed their own maravedís to cover the necessary expenses. Thus, in 1631, the CONGREGATION OF OUR LADY OF THE NOVENA OF SPANISH ACTORS was born, with a clear social mission and the intention of functioning as a mutual aid society.

The image venerated today at one of the church's altars is a painting depicting the Virgin watching over the sleeping Child Jesus, accompanied by Saint Joseph and a young Saint John, who places a finger to his lips in a gesture of silence. The original painting was vandalized by heretics when it was still displayed on the street, and a copy was later made.

On one occasion, the Virgin of the Novena was taken to the palace of the Countess of Chinchón, who was suffering from an illness and was cured after the Virgin’s visit. The Countess kept the image and ordered an exact copy to be painted, which was then sent to the Church of San Sebastián. When the Countess died, the original painting was returned to the brotherhood, which now found itself with two identical images. Due to this practice, Pope Innocent X intervened in 1651, decreeing that such privileges should cease and that the painting should never again leave the parish under penalty of excommunication.

After the church was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, the Congregation recovered a replica of the image thanks to the intervention of the Directorate for Artistic Recovery.

As an anecdote, it is known that the Virgin herself appeared on the payroll of acting companies—a fact that scandalized the composer Barbieri when he discovered it in the Municipal Archive. In this way, she was assigned the same salary as the leading actor or actress, and that amount was donated to the brotherhood.