The city of Vila-real, in the Valencia region, received on Friday its patron saint, the Mare de Déu de Gràcia (Virgin Mary of Grace), in the traditional ceremony known as "baixà". This event unmistakably marks the beginning of the major September festivities in the city, gathering hundreds of vila-realencs (local residents) in a ceremony filled with devotion, tradition, and collective sentiment.
The image of the Virgin, affectionately nicknamed by locals as "la Moreneta" (the little dark one), left the tranquility of her hermitage at El Termet to settle during the coming days in the heart of the city, at the archpresbyteral church of Sant Jaume. This church thus became the epicenter of the main religious acts of the celebrations.
The event represents a symbolic moment of great importance for the community of Vila-real, establishing itself as one of the most representative traditions of the patron saint festivities celebrated annually in September. The arrival of the patron saint at the main church of the city marks the official start of a period of festivities that involves the entire local population.
