Esclavitude

Esclavitude is a parish in the municipality of Padrón, in the province of A Coruña, Galicia. The name’s origin is debated: it may refer to a system of servile land tenure in the medieval period, or to the concept of spiritual slavery to the Virgin, a Marian devotional tradition known in Catholic practice.

The principal monument is the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Esclavitude, an eighteenth-century Baroque pilgrimage church dedicated to a miraculous image of the Virgin. The sanctuary attracted significant regional pilgrimage and retains its votive chapel and processional character, with ex-voto offerings accumulated over generations.

Esclavitude lies on the Camino Português between Padrón and Santiago de Compostela, a section dense with sacred associations on the final approach to the cathedral.