January 28
Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Three local smiths, Nicolás Almaina, Pedro de Bozarraéz, and Lorenzo de Medina, cast a silver statue of Our Lady of the Rosary for the Dominican church of the old capital of Guatemala in the late 1500s. The Santa Marta earthquake of 1773 destroyed the church and left the statue in pieces under the rubble. The government moved to a new location, now called Guatemala City. Meanwhile, excavators found the remains of the statue, which silversmith Joseph Cornelio de Lara restored to beauty. On November 5, 1808, the recovered statue came in triumph to the new Church of St. Dominic in the new capital. In 1821 the leaders of the independence movement proclaimed Our Lady of the Rosary Patroness of the new nation. As papal representative, the Archbishop of Guatemala crowned the statue on January 28, 1934 in a great ceremony outside the cathedral. Those close by witnessed the Virgin bow her head humbly as he placed the crown studded with 121 emeralds, 44 diamonds, 80 pearls, and a golden rose. In 1969 Pope Paul VI designated the Temple of St. Dominic the Pontifical Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary. Guatemala celebrates its patronal feast day on October 7, the Catholic Feast of the Rosary. (Picture from the Confraternity's site, cofradiadelsantorosario.org.)
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