Our Lady of Coromoto
The miraculous image of Our Lady of Coromoto is considered to be the most important in Venezuela. The pilgrimage site of Coromoto is a suburb of Guanare . Our Lady of Coromoto has been the patron saint of Venezuela since 1942 .
Lore
When the city of Guanare (capital of the Venezuelan state of Portuguesa ) was founded in 1591 , the Indian population of the region fled to the northern part of the state and retired to the forests. According to oral tradition, it is in this forest that the Virgin Mary appeared to the local chief in 1591 for the first time . The apparition asked the chief to be baptized and his tribe members. Apart from the chief who refused, many people were baptized. On the night of September 8, 1652, the Virgin Mary appeared a second time to the chief, his wife, his sister-in-law Isabel and their son. She again asked those present to be baptized . The chief shot an arrow at the apparition, but it missed its target. The Virgin left a small piece of parchment with her image on it. The chief wanted to burn the picture first, but was prevented from doing so by the boy. More people who had heard of the apparition of the Virgin Mary came and took the parchment for themselves.
According to tradition, the chief returned to the forest, where he was bitten by a snake. In his need, he promised to be baptized. After his baptism he recovered and is said to have become an ardent admirer of the Blessed Virgin. The accounts of the apparition of the Virgin Mary resulted in the Capuchin Father José de Najera taking over the pastoral care of the small place called San-José-de-la-Aparicion . The village later fell victim to a flood, while the original place of apparition Coromoto grew into a great place of pilgrimage. Many Indians were baptized and frequently visited the place of apparition. The place Coromoto developed more and more into a place of pilgrimage. On February 1, 1654, the officials of the city of Guanare decided to transfer the miraculous image made of parchment with the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the city church, today's Cathedral of Guanare .
Adoration
The Venezuelan Bishops' Conference declared the Virgin of Coromoto to be the patron saint of Venezuela in March 1942. Pope Pius XII confirmed the letter of the bishops on October 7, 1944 and elevated the town church of Guanare, in which the miraculous image is located, to a basilica minor . In 1985 the miraculous image was crowned by Pope John Paul II on the occasion of his visit to Venezuela . On February 10, 1996, the Church of Our Lady of Coremoto in Guanare was consecrated. Pope Benedict XVI elevated the church to the rank of minor basilica . The feast day of Our Lady of Coromoto has been set for November 3rd .
Patronage
Individual evidence
- ↑ Pope John Paul II - February 10, 1996, inauguration of the new shrine "Our Lady of Coromoto" in Guanare [1] (Spanish)
- ↑ Cathedral (video clip) [2]