Pilgrimage of Santo Toribio

Every April since 1931, Palencia celebrates its Pedrea del Pan y el Quesillo. This traditional custom has its climax in the launch, from the balcony of the hermitage of Santo Toribio, of thousands of bags with bread and cheese to the thousands of attendees who meet at the pilgrimage. In this way, the stoning that, according to legend, the saint suffered when he arrived in Palencia to preach against the priscilianista heresy is recreated. 

Tradition says that the saint was stoned and that he should have sought refuge in a dark grotto located at the foot of Cerro del Otero (where the largest sculpture of Christ in our country is now located). Days later, heavy rains caused the flooding of the Carrión river and the complete flooding of the streets of the city, which the people of Palencia attributed to divine punishment. Frightened, they denied the heresy and pleaded with the saint to lower the flow. And so it was, the canal descended and, in recognition of his help, Santo Toribio was appointed second patron of the city. With this traditional festival, the people of Palencia commemorate the repentance of their ancestors and their abandonment of Priscilianism. The pilgrimage, which was declared of Regional Tourist Interest in 2005, begins with the procession that the Peña de Santo Toribio undertakes from the Church of San Ignacio to the temple, where the bishop presides over the mass each year.