EL ROCÍO, Spain — Under layers of dust from the road, their faces and flamenco costumes bespeaking their journey, countless pilgrims convened around an ox-led carriage carrying an icon of the Virgin Mary. The travelers had persisted on foot, horseback, and wagons across rugged terrains for close to 12 hours. As the sun set, the lively flamenco music ceased, and pints of beer were set aside as the Catholic devotees gathered to recite an evening rosary amidst a backdrop of pine trees, just a few miles away from the small village of El Rocío.
“We drink, socialize, and our closest friends are here with us. Yet, the heart of this journey is in the prayer,” shared Meme Morales, a veteran of the pilgrimage since the early ’90s, accompanied this year by her daughters, both now adults. “The Virgin Mary is integral to our lives.” The veneration of the Rocío Virgin dates back to the final years of the 13th century, when the primary icon was found in this region of Andalusia in southern Spain.
This tradition has blossomed into one of the largest and most distinctive Catholic pilgrimages worldwide. Preceding the Pentecost weekend, around a million participants engage in the “romería del Rocío,” winding through swirling dust clouds that enshroud their devotion with a natural essence.
A display of jubilance and faith accompanies the pilgrims as they progress. The scene may appear to be a rambunctious celebration, even amongst the devoted brotherhoods—greater than 130 in number, each taking varied routes from nearby regions and as distant as Brussels. Morales is affiliated with the Triana brotherhood.
From the moment they break camp at dawn till the night envelops the sky, flamenco songs animate the air, sung with the accompaniment of guitars and rhythmic applause, each brotherhood boasting its own unique compositions. The journey is shared with homemade delicacies and plentiful provisions of water, beer, and sherry, readily offered to familiar faces and strangers alike.
Yet, within the revelry, prayers punctuate each pause along the countryside trails, priests are available to hear confessions at day’s conclusion, discussions revolve around the pope, missionary travels, and community aid, and formal Masses are celebrated under the open sky. “Without these, this pilgrimage would lack meaning. It would be merely a picnic,” remarked Patricia Rodríguez Galinier, in charge of liturgical activities for the Triana brotherhood. This brotherhood, established over two centuries ago, hails from the Seville neighborhood bearing the same name, 50 miles (80 kilometers) away.
Rodríguez had just prepared for Mass beside the Triana “simpecado”—translated to “without sin,” it references their own version of the Virgin icon, which is carried on an ox-drawn cart decked in silver and fresh blossoms. At each night’s encampment, wagons form a circle, and worship continues into the night.
As oxen rest tethered to modest trees and some pilgrims maintain their saddles in the 90-degree Fahrenheit heat (33 Celsius), over seven hundred faithful gather to listen to a homily delivered by their spiritual leader, the Rev. Manuel Sánchez. He cited Pope Leo XIV’s initial public remarks about God’s inclusive love—eliciting laughter when he noted that God’s love extended even to those partaking in the Sacrament of Reconciliation while still clutching beer bottles behind the wagons.
“The spirit of spontaneity inherent in El Rocío is profound… It’s reminiscent of the Gospel accounts where Jesus shares a meal with people,” Sánchez reflected later. “Life offers ample occasions for tears as one approaches God, but that spirit isn’t the essence of El Rocío.”
This pilgrimage’s earthy character is partly due to El Rocío’s setting amid the wetlands and dunes near the Guadalquivir River’s estuary, explained Juan Carlos González Faraco, a University of Huelva academic specializing in the pilgrimage. For years before greenhouse farming and protected natural expanses took root, this was an area marred by malaria, visited mostly by those tending cattle and horses. This geographical isolation allowed the pilgrimage’s age-old customs to persist, free from the rigidity associated with other Marian places of worship. The brotherhoods rather than the institutional church have maintained control over the tradition, González elaborated.
He is a member of the principal brotherhood of Almonte, the nearest town to the sanctuary overseeing El Rocío’s iconic white church, resplendent with golden images and pathways painted orange by pilgrims’ footprints. Its president, Santiago Padilla, spent hours on Saturday greeting each arriving brotherhood with solemnity at the sanctuary’s gates.
“They arrive weighed down with intentions, requests, prayers. This is the moment for exchanges of gratitude, handshakes, and thanks to the Virgin for completing the pilgrimage,” stated Padilla, who hails from a lineage of pilgrims.
Adorned in a pristine white jacket and formal riding attire, Padilla embodied the traditional dress of many brotherhood members who ride horseback on the pilgrimage. Women don shawls and long skirts or dresses, both to ride sidesaddle and shield themselves from foliage and the sun. While these outfits might appear rooted in Spanish stereotypes, they honor the occupational customs of local families.
“Displaying good form draws us nearer to the divine,” commented Ignacio Sabater Wasaldúa, leading the Triana brotherhood this year while riding alongside his son, aiding in steering the procession of wagons and thousands of pedestrians. The brotherhoods emphasize that their dedication to Christianity surpasses one annual pilgrimage, drawing inspiration from it, and the thought of missing it isn’t entertained.
“El Rocío ought to serve as a model for society, characterized by affection and solidarity,” Sabater expressed. Triana, for instance, maintains a chapel offering daily Mass and organizes a summer camp bringing almost 200 youths from disadvantaged communities to their compound in El Rocío.
“I’m a rociera throughout the year,” said Macarena Ruíz, a participant since the late 1980s whose three offspring have become camp counselors. Despite an increase in secularism in Spain, young individuals remain involved in the pilgrimage, partaking to uphold family traditions, forge new friendships, or express their faith. This year, Triana’s youth group hosted Eucharistic adoration late into the night on the second day of their camp.
“That’s assurance that this custom will endure,” expressed Esperanza García Rivero, her grandfather partaking in the pilgrimage with his wagon as far back as the 1940s.
Beneath the surface of customs and celebrations, many pilgrims fulfill vows made to the Virgin. Having had a double mastectomy due to breast cancer, Paloma Maria has a visible tattoo of the Virgin Mary between her shoulder blades. “She looks after me. My Rocío Virgin is my everything,” declared the young woman from Córdoba.
On Saturday, Maria Mendoza arrived with thanks, accompanied by García and close associates from Triana, entering the sanctuary post the brotherhood’s formal welcome in front of it. Further pilgrimage activities await, concluding overnight from Sunday into Monday with the final procession of the Rocío icon to all brotherhoods in the town. This lengthy, crowded event spans hours before the faithful embark on their return home, still using feet, horses, and carts.
But this initial moment holds significance, marking when these women directly encountered the Virgin. Sweat and tears fused with dust on their countenances. “So many whirling thoughts, for yourself, for your friends…it’s a powerful release,” Sara de la Haza softly conveyed. The group then joined the crowd’s song, tears clearing, as they gleefully sang, “You are the white dove, you are the one I’ve loved most since my birth.”