"According to Spanish history, Our Lady of Covadonga appeared to Dom Pelayo..she left behind a statue of the Blessed Mother holding Christ. In the midst of battle with the Moors..Pelayo asked our Blessed Mother for protection"

https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/faith-abroad-la-santina-our-lady-of-covadonga 

... What I wasn't expecting was the sight of what looked like a very small chapel on the edge of a cliff with a waterfall cascading below to a crevice with a fountain. Our professor informed us that we were looking at the Holy Cave.

 

 

According to Spanish history, Our Lady of Covadonga appeared to Dom Pelayo in what would later be named the Holy Cave. Without saying a word, she left behind a statue of the Blessed Mother holding Christ. In the midst of battle with the Moors, who had been invading Spain, Pelayo asked our Blessed Mother for protection. During the first battle in the mountains of Covadonga and under the protection of Our Lady, the Spanish were able to defeat the Moors. I learned that the Moors shot arrows at the Spaniards, and miraculously, the arrows reversed course and pierced the very men who initially shot them.

After the battle, Pelayo became the first king of Asturias. The Spanish credit our Lady with the victory over the Moors, as they had sought and received her protection. While the original cave was destroyed in a fire, it was later rebuilt to house the statue. A Basilica was also later built and consecrated, where the current statue of Our Lady of Covadonga is located. Pope John Paul II even visited the shrine during his time as the Pope. The feast day of Our Lady of Covadonga, September 8, is also celebrated as the Day of Asturias and was specifically selected to coincide with the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.