Our Lady of Africa, patron saint of Ceuta, is celebrated every 5 August and is a holiday of the Autonomous City of Ceuta.
Regional holiday
5 August 2026
83,595
Verified data
In 2026, Our Lady of Africa is recorded as a regional holiday on 5 August 2026. The calendars included in the dataset apply it in Ceuta, covering 83,595 residents in the 2025 register.
This comparison uses only the official working calendars incorporated into the dataset for each year.
| Year | Main date | Where recorded | Residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5 August 2024 | Ceuta | 83,229 |
| 2025 | 5 August 2025 | Ceuta | 83,595 |
| 2026 | 5 August 2026 | Ceuta | 83,595 |
Demographic profile
Age, citizenship, birthplace and average-age structure from the 2025 Annual Population Census.
49.6% / 50.4%
17%
69.4%
13.7%
6.4%
13.6%
39.3 years
Comparison with Spain. All five comparisons are population-weighted and use only the 2025 Annual Census. A positive sign means the covered population has a higher value than the benchmark.
| Demographic profile | Covered population | Compared with Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 0–14 | 17% | +4 pp |
| Aged 65+ | 13.7% | -7 pp |
| Foreign citizenship | 6.4% | -7.7 pp |
| Born outside Spain | 13.6% | -5.7 pp |
| Weighted mean age | 39.3 years | -5.3 years |
The largest difference from Spain is in “Foreign citizenship”: -7.7 pp.
Sex comes from the 2025 municipal register; all other metrics come from the 2025 Annual Census. Each percentage uses the total from its own statistical operation. INE municipal tables 68535 and 68541.
The festival is dedicated to Our Lady of Africa, a Marian dedication central to Ceuta’s history. After the Portuguese conquest of 1415, the image reached the city in the following years; tradition links it to a shipment from Portugal and to the protection of the stronghold. Over time she became Mother and Patroness of Ceuta, and is also popularly titled Perpetual Mayoress.
The celebration centres on the Sanctuary of Saint Mary of Africa, in the square of the same name, in the historic heart of the city. The present baroque church replaced earlier chapels and works linked to the cult since the fifteenth century.
In early August the patronal festivities include a novena, a floral offering — usually on the 4th — and, on the 5th, a pontifical mass and solemn procession. The day brings together devotion, urban memory and coexistence in a city of strong cultural diversity.
In the working calendar it is a holiday of the autonomous city, not of the rest of Spain. It should not be confused with Ceuta Day (2 September), which is institutional, or with other Marian dedications on 5 August.
Patroness of Ceuta, also known as the Virgin of Africa or Saint Mary of Africa.
Other holidays
Per-municipality data with its official source (regional gazette). Every date is verifiable on the municipality page. Data from festivos.io — CC BY 4.0.