The Well of the Hen

The Well of the Hen (Pou de la Gallina), located on Sobrerroca Street, is a place of devotion closely linked to Saint Ignatius’s stay in Manresa. The site is well known as the setting of a famous miracle associated with the future saint.

Although several oral and written versions of the miracle exist, they all share the same basic story: A young girl from Manresa named Agnès (Inés) wept inconsolably before the well. Misfortune had struck — the hen she was carrying, which belonged to her bad-tempered stepmother, had escaped, fallen into the well, and drowned. Desperate over the consequences she would face, the girl prayed fervently for help. Moved by her tears, Saint Ignatius prayed and caused the waters of the well to rise. From them emerged the hen, alive, ending the girl’s sorrow and sparing her the wrath of her stepmother.

At the beginning of the 18th century, a chapel was built on one of the lower levels of Sobrerroca Street to commemorate this miracle.