It was built at the beginning of the 16th century to replace a previous one that was located on the site currently occupied by the Hospital de la Piedad. The Confraternity of the Cross was installed there around that time, and in 1528 a chaplaincy was instituted in compliance with the testamentary mandates of Francisco Suarez, a resident of the town, the building being known by then as Ermita de la Cruz or Veracruz. In the 17th century Benavente showed a great devotion to the Virgin of the Soledad, and in 1679 important renovation works were carried out. During the French invasion the hermitage was occupied by Napoleonic troops, destroying a good part of the images it housed. In the middle of the 19th century the hermitage became an improvised hospital to give shelter to some of those affected by the epidemics that devastated the region. Subsequently, it became a storehouse for the imagery heritage and the Easter processions of Benavente.
