January 20
Nuestra Señora del Rocío, Biblián, Cañar, Ecuador
In the early 1890s, when southern Ecuador had suffered a three-year drought and famine, the town of Biblián asked parish priest Daniel Muñoz to hold an intercessory
procession to the Virgin through the streets. But instead Padre Muñoz took the procession to a location he had seen in a dream. In the company of the faithful he climbed a
thousand feet up Zhalao hill with a small image of the Virgin and Child, the work of French sculptors, and placed it in a mountain grotto at 6 am on Saturday, January 20, 1894,
with prayers for rain. The miracle occurred, and the next dawn found the fields around Biblián covered with dew; from then on, rains, flowers, and fruits abounded, and the
thankful people called the Virgin "Our Lady of the Dew." An impressive sanctuary has been built on the site. During the centennial celebration January 20, 1994, the
statue was canonically crowned.
Sources:
 | "Devociones Ecuatorianas !" La Importancia de Rezar ! Oremos Juntos ! www.oremosjuntos.com/DevocionesEcuatorianas.html |
| "Ilustre Municipio de Biblian," www.ame.gov.ec (photo) |
Also celebrated this date:
| Notre-Dame de Sion, Paris, France. Religious order honors the date of Our Lady's converting apparition to Alphonse Ratisbonne in 1842 as its founding day. |
| Madonna delle Grazie, Cortemaggiore, Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Church consecrated, 1499. |
| Madonna del Sangue, Bagno di Romagna, Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Woodcut bled, 1498. |
| Virgen de Chiquinquirá, Caraz, Ancash, Peru. Town's patronal fiesta thanks the Virgin for help during the Battle of Yungay on January 20, 1839. |
| Santísima Virgen Purísima, Pampas, Tayacaja, Huancavelica, Peru. Town's patronal fiesta: mass, procession, traditional games. |
| Mamacha Belén, Cusco, Cusco, Peru. Fiesta: mass and procession. The statue also processes at Corpus Christi. |
| Mamacha Belén, San Pablo, Canchis, Cusco, Peru (nearest Sunday). Patronal fiesta: mass & procession. |