On a historical October 9th, Our Lady returned to her cathedral in Valencia

On September 29, 1238, after 18 months of siege, the Muslims who occupied Valencia, Spain, capitulated to King James I of Aragon, known as "the Conqueror."

On October 9th, the king ordered the re-dedication of the former great mosque that had been built over the old Visigothic cathedral, which was thus returned to the Catholic cult and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

It is in memory of this day of October 9th that every year the "Valencian glories" take place (las Glorias valencianas). On this day a special Te Deum is sung in the cathedral. It is regrettable that for three years city officials have not attended for reasons of political secularism.

For his part, in 2017, the archbishop of Valencia, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, presided over the ceremony, stating in his homily: “We are celebrating with immense joy the restoration of the Catholic faith in Valencia, which had been eliminated from the public square under the domination of the Muslim invader.”

Infocatho