In fact, it was until only in 1883 that King Alfonso XII laid the first stone of the new cathedral. John Paul II consecrated it in 1993. Even so, Madrid was a diocese within the ecclesiastical province of Toledo. It was only in 1971 that the Archdiocese of Madrid–Alcala' was created. The Archdiocese of Madrid as we know it today was only created in 1991 when Alcala' was given its own diocese. Today's Cathedral of Our Lady of Almudena stands on the site of what was a granary when the city was under Morrish rule and, later, a small church. The Arab word for that location was “almud” or “almudith”, hence the church that was built there was called the church “of almudena”. Legend has it that when St. James came to Spain from Jerusalem, he placed a statue of Our Lady in this little church and over time it disappeared. After the reconquering of Madrid in 1085, King Alfonso VI decided to find that statue hidden by St. James. The king organized a procession along the fortress walls of Madrid asking God to reveal the hidden statue. As the procession was passing before a stretch of wall belonging to the former Arab granary, some rocks came tumbling down off the wall revealing a hollow space in the wall. In that hollow niche was the statue of the dark skinned Virgin, with two candles on either side that were still lit. From that day onward, Our Lady of Almudena was considered to be the patroness of Madrid. That day was November 9^th and every year on that day the faithful of Madrid celebrate their patroness with a procession through the city centre. It is in this cathedral that Pope Benedict XVI will meet with seminarians during World Youth Day.