Novohispanic School. 18th century. “Our Lady of Loreto” Oil on canvas. 96 x 78 cm. We consider it appropriate to evoke the tradition of Our Lady of Loreto, patron saint of the Spanish Air Force. As explained by the Spanish Government’s Defence Culture Portal, this tradition has been passed down orally since the thirteenth century, with written accounts of her life emerging from the second half of the fifteenth century onwards. “It recounts that in 1291, when the Crusaders were forced to abandon the Holy Land, the House of the Virgin, where the Son of God became incarnate and where He spent most of His life alongside the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph (Luke 2:51–52), in Nazareth (Palestine), was transported by angelic intervention from Nazareth to Tersatto, in Dalmatia, and from there, on the night of 10 December 1294, to the hill of laurels in the territory of Recanati (Italy). By decree dated 24 March 1920, Pope Benedict XV declared and established Our Lady of Loreto as the patron saint of all aviators. On 7 December 1920, His Majesty King Alfonso XIII, following a report and petition submitted by the Military Vicar General, placed the Military Aeronautics Service under the patronage of Our Lady of Loreto'. Reference bibliography: - Ministry of Defence. Defence Culture Portal. (n.d.). “Our Lady of Loreto”. https://www.defensa.gob.es/portaldecultura/nuestra-se%C3%B1ora-del-loreto