In the afternoon, February 27th, Our Lady of Częstochowa in Her Icon visited Salamanca. This is an old city on the river Tormes and it is the capital of the province of Salamanca in the region of Castilia and Leon. In Europe the place is most famous for the battle of Salamaca, on the 12th of July 1812, when the armies of Britain, Spain and Portugal defeated the army of Napoleon.
And during the Spanish civil war general Franco had his main headquarters here. The city is reknown as a famous academic centre boasting of its high-ranked university. The Salamanca Old Town has been placed on the list of the world heritage of UNESCO.
The Czestochowa Icon was awaited at the Chapel of the Cross in the centre of the old town. Thanks to the careful police escort the “Life Mobile” with the Icon was able to drive along the central streets like Casa de las Conchas, Clerecía,which are now only available for pedestrians.
The Chapel of the Cross was full of people. During the welcoming ceremony a Polish woman, living in Salamanca at present, told the congregation about the history of the Czestochowa Icon. Next a procession to the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel began. On the way there were two stops: at the convent of St. Ursula and at the Romanian Orthodox church. When the Icon came to the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel the solemn Holy Mass was celebrated.
At 7 PM Salamanca said good-bye to the Icon. The Mother of God was surrounded by a crowd of around 500 people. The organisers were in a hurry as it was snowing more and more heavily. Salamanca is located at 800 meters above the sea level and has a bit colder climate. The first 40 kilometres of the journey were very difficult because of the snowstorm, but when they reached the pass and the valley of Jerte it stopped snowing and it got warmer.