Tradition tells that at Epiphany some shepherds found an image of the Virgin at the foot of a wild rose bush in flower in the depths of winter — a wonder. They carried the image away, but it kept returning to the same spot, and so a chapel was built there.
The Virgin of Meritxell became the patron saint of Andorra, celebrated on 8 September, the country's national day. The original sanctuary at Canillo burned down in 1972; the present building, modern and monumental, was designed by the architect Ricard Bofill.
8 September, Meritxell's day, falls between the festival of la Cortinada and Arans (4–6 September) and the Festa Major d'Ordino (16 September): a good week for an Andorran autumn.