page_title: Our Lady of Europe
section_title: In Algeciras
hierarchical_section_title: Our Lady of Europe / Devotion beyond Gibraltar / In Algeciras
caption_attribution_description: Español: Capilla de Nuestra Señora de Europa en la localidad andaluza de Algeciras (España)
context_page_description: Our Lady of Europe is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as patroness of Gibraltar and protectress of Europe. The entire European continent was consecrated under the protection of Our Lady of Europe in the early 14th century from the Shrine in Gibraltar where devotion still continues to this day, over 700 years on.
  Together with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Our Lady is a Catholic patron saint of Gibraltar, and as such protector of the whole of Europe.
context_section_description: After the Capture of Gibraltar by the Anglo-Dutch fleet, almost all the inhabitants of the town left it and settled down in different locations within the Campo. While most did it around the hermitage of Saint Roch (what nowadays is San Roque, others established themselves in Los Barrios or in the remains of Algeciras, around the Chapel of St. Bernard, patron saint of Gibraltar and its Campo, which was located in the cortijo (farm) of one of the wealthiest families of Gibraltar, the Gálvez, in 1690. As described above, the statue of Our Lady of Europe venerated in Gibraltar had been taken to Algeciras for safekeeping after being desecrated. It was placed in said Chapel, which was then dedicated then to Our Lady of Europe and named Chapel of Our Lady of Europe (Spanish: Capilla de Nuestra Señora de Europa).
  The chapel became parish church in 1721, and remained so until 1736, when its function was taken over by the neighbouring Church of Our Lady of the Palm (Spanish: Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Palma). Devotion to Our Lady of Europe continued, especially because of the role of the Chapel in the re-establishment of the town and the presence of the original statue of Our Lady in the church. In 1769 it was rebuilt, as the original building was severely affected by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and had to be demolished. The statue did not suffer any damages. In 1864, after the petition of the Vicar Apostolic of Gibraltar, John Baptist Scandella, the original statue returned to Gibraltar, and an exact replica was carved and placed in the Chapel of Our Lady of Europe. This remains dedicated to Our Lady of Europe up to this day.
caption: The Chapel of Europe (Spanish: Capillita de Europa) in Algeciras.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS CORPORATION", "Image Model": "X100,D540Z,C310Z", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "CAMEDIA Master 4.2", "Image DateTime": "2006:04:15 17:52:07", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "272", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1852", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4939", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/200", "EXIF FNumber": "29/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "0000:00:00 00:00:00", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "0000:00:00 00:00:00", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "29/10", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "29/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1536", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2048", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1720", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Custom", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}