November 11
Blanca Estrella del Mar, Olón, Santa Elena, Ecuador
In 1984, on a wild Pacific cliff near the fishing village of Olón, Swiss priest Othmar Staheli built a sanctuary in the shape of a sailing vessel, dedicated to Mary under the title White Star of the Sea. In the open-air gathering space on "deck" the Immaculata stands in a large shell-shaped grotto decorated with abalones and stars (left). In the nearby city of Manglaralto, Father Staheli started a nonprofit organization, Santa Maria del Fiat, which supports a school at the Sanctuary as well as hospitals, community stores, and social projects. On November 11, 1990, at the Sanctuary, a statue of the Rosa Mystica (right) wept blood for seven hours, a miracle commemorated there annually on this date.On the Santa Maria del Fiat website, www.fsmfiat-ecuador.org, is a lovely recording of a song about the phenomenon, "Lagrimas de Sangre" ("Your tears of blood are tears of love"). The province of Santa Elena celebrates the Virgen del Mar on the third Friday in June, and the big pilgrimage to Olón takes place on September 8, the Nativity of the Virgin.
Photo sources:
 | "Picasa Web Albums - Rodrigo - Viaje Chilenita," picasaweb.google.com (grotto statue) |
| "Sanctuary of "Blanca Estrella de la Mar" Olón Ecuador," Father James Manjackal, www.jmanjackal.net/places/ecuador04.htm (weeping statue) |
Also celebrated this date:
| María Auxiliadora, Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (Mary the Helper). Church dedicated, 2000; feast May 24. |
| Virgen de las Mercedes, Latacunga, Cotopaxi, Ecuador. Fiesta de la Mama Negra, Saturday before town's November 11 independence day. |
| Notre-Dame de la Gare, Paris, France (Our Lady of the Station). Church consecrated, 1859. |
| Madonna Incoronata, Mantua, Lombardy, Italy (Crowned Madonna). Festa Sunday after St. Martin's day (November 11). |
| Madonna della Salute, Verona, Italy. Statue crowned, 2005. |
| Madonna del Belvedere, Città di Castello, Perugia, Umbria, Italy. Statue crowned, 1703. Festa Sunday of Corpus Christi. |
| Maria, Madre della Divina Provvidenza, Rome, Italy. Painting crowned, 1888; feast Saturday before third Sunday of November. |
| Vår Frue, Trondheim, Norway (Our Lady). Reopened as Lutheran church, 2007. |