Feast of the Blessing of the Fruits

The origins of this festival, documented in the sixteenth century, date back to the Middle Ages. It is an ancient spring prayer to ask the Virgin Mary for a good harvest, just at the most decisive moment of the year, when rain is essential for the cereal to finish ripening.

The Algaidins climb to the top of the Puig de Randa (called Cura by the Randins), where the sanctuary of the Virgin of Cura is located. You go there along the path that leaves the spring of the village of Randa and passes by the sanctuaries of Gràcia and Sant Honorat. The distance between Randa and the sanctuary of Cura is about two and a half kilometres, with a difference in altitude of 260m. It is an old path that currently crosses the road at some points (you have to pay attention to vehicles and cyclists). Pilgrims from Llucmajor, Montuïri and other villages in the region access it by other routes.

At 12:00 noon, there is mass in the chapel, usually concelebrated and presided over by the bishop of Mallorca. Afterwards, a procession is made to the viewpoint behind the sanctuary, where the blessing of the fruits is carried out and an ancient prayer is pronounced looking at the four cardinal points of the island to ask for a good harvest. Finally, we return to the chapel, where the joys to the Virgin of Care are sung.

The sanctuary of Cura is a place of Llull’s memory, since, according to tradition, it was here that Ramon Llull, in 1274, received the Divine Illumination that led him to write the Ars. Between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries there was the Grammar Classroom, today a museum and assembly hall. The Gothic image of the Virgin of Cura is from the fifteenth century. Today, the sanctuary is managed by the TOR Franciscans. There is a souvenir shop, where you can buy the traditional sizes (colored ribbons the size of the image of the Virgin of Cura) and the popular Randa liqueur, made with an ancient formula patented by the friars. The sanctuary of Cura is one of the best viewpoints in Mallorca.

– Cave of the Beat. This small cavity is a place full of mystical significance, since tradition places the illumination of Ramon Llull and the legend of the written bush there. It is located on the southern slope, ten minutes from the sanctuary, where you can ask for the key and reach it by the signposted path.
-Viewpoints. Clinging to the sanctuary, there are two. The southern viewpoint overlooks Cabrera and, on exceptionally clear days, you can make out the island of Ibiza. From the tramuntana viewpoint, you can see the entire Tramuntana mountain range, from Palma to Formentor, the bays of Pollença and Alcúdia, as well as the Llevant peninsula.

Joys to Our Lady of Cura

Anonymous lyrics

 

In any misadventure

be our lawyer,

Queen of Heaven Revered

in the mountains of Cura!

 

Every man is a pilgrim

that crosses long desert,

and unfortunately he loses

each point its own path;

But Estrella is sure

if he has you as a lawyer.

 

Whoever desires some favor,

if it is convenient, from You he reaches it:

You are our hope,

be you our love.

Show your tenderness,

because you are our lawyer.

 

Virgin Mary, pure Virgin,

be our lawyer,

Queen of Heaven Revered

in the mountains of Cura!

 

With their deceptions the world

the peace of the soul takes place

however, oh Mother! that the children of Eve

Your children are too.

Look at us with sweetness

as a mother and a lawyer.

Queen of Heaven Revered

in the mountains of Cura!