A man in Toulouse confessed his sins. As penance, an abbot ordered him to make a pilgrimage to Santiago, carrying an iron staff weighing twenty-four libras. The abbot instructed him to place the staff before the altar of Santiago in full view of everyone.

The man had the staff made to the proper weight.

When he was walking through Castile he saw the church of Vilasirga. He asked a friar what it was called and the man told him, explaining that the Virgin performed many miracles there.

The pilgrim entered the church. As soon as he had prayed to the Virgin to forgive his sins, the iron staff, which he had placed in front of the image of the Virgin, snapped in half.

Wanting to continue his journey, the pilgrim tried to pick up the broken pieces of the staff, but he could not remove them from the floor of the church. He realised that the Virgin wanted him to leave the staff there, and he wept and told the people his story. The clergy, who sang the Salve Regina, interpreted the miracle as a sign that the man had fulfilled his penance.

Leaving the staff behind, the man journeyed to Santiago. When he returned home, he served the Virgin for the rest of his life.