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 marian
anniversaries december
December 21
Virgen de la Paz, Trujillo, Venezuela
Around 1570, the story goes, a woman with distinctive features and a
youthful glow began coming from the mountains in the afternoon to buy
candles at a market in the Carmona district of Trujillo in western
Venezuela. When some curious men asked her why she walked alone, she
answered, "Not alone, but with God, the sun, and the stars."
"Where are you from?" "From nearby." "How do you
cross the full ravine, and who helps you?" "My sons, don't
forget that I go with God, my protector." One day some townsfolk
followed her and saw her disappear into a cleft in the rock. Then people
noticed the rock sparkling and shining, and decided that the mysterious
maiden was not someone from the community, but the Virgin Mary. The
Virgin's Rock became a place of legend and devotion. Some said that it was
the source of three rivers - one of water, one of blood, and one of milk -
that the Holy Virgin held back from sweeping away the town. To this day,
large numbers of pilgrims gather at the cueva, cave, to place
votive offerings, recite rosaries, and sing hymns in thanks for favors
granted, especially around the feast of Our Lady of Peace on January 24. On December 21, 1983, the President of Venezuela, Luis Herrera
Campins, dedicated a monumental statue of the Virgin of Peace on the rock
above the cave. Designed by architect Manuel de la Fuente, of concrete on
a steel frame, the monument weighs 1,323 tons and stands 154 feet high,
slightly taller than the Statue of Liberty. The Virgin extends one hand
and holds a dove in the other. Visitors can go inside and ascend to five
lookouts that survey nearly the entire state of Trujillo. In Trujillo
Cathedral is a much older devotional statue of Our Lady of Peace, patron
of Trujillo city and state.
Sources include:
 | es.wikipedia.org |
| leonccsyv, www.panoramio.com. |
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Also commemorated this date:
| Magna Mater Austriae, Mariazell, Austria (Great Mother of Austria). Monk
started shrine in thanks for miracle, 1157. Feast Sept. 8. |
| Beata Vergine della Provvidenza, Piumazzo, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
Oratorio blessed, 1817. |
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