May 11
Virgen de la Candelaria, Cayma, Arequipa, Peru
In the 1500s, tradition holds, Emperor Charles V of Spain sent three sacred
images to the Viceroyalty of Peru, destined for the southeastern city of Cusco:
two statues of the Virgin and a painting of Cristo de la Buena Suerte (Christ of
Good Fortune). When the Indians carrying the Virgin of Candelaria reached the
mountainous region of Arequipa, some 300 miles west of Cusco, they heard a voice
saying in in Quechua, "Caiman, caiman" ("here, here, no
further"), and though they
tried to continue their march, were unable to move the statue. The Virgin
of Candelaria stayed, a shrine was built, and the town of Cayma grew up there,
named for her word. The other images reached Cusco and are venerated there under
the names of Nuestra Señora La Linda (Our Lady the Pretty) and El Señor de los
Temblores (Lord of the Earthquakes), while the Virgin of Candelaria stands over
the main altar in Cayma's parish church of St. Michael the Archangel.In Cayma, the Virgin's feast day is February 2, Candlemas (Candelaria), the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, celebrated in the Catholic Church with blessing of candles in commemoration of Mary's ritual visit to the temple 40 days after the birth of Jesus. The Virgin of Candelaria of Cayma holds a candle, as does her Child.
She has seen the region through many disasters. Four years after the massive eruption of Huaynaputina 43 miles east, a cholera epidemic hit the city of Arequipa. The dead were buried in mass graves. Desperate for divine help, people brought the statue of the Virgin down from Cayma some five miles north, and as the procession went through the city on August 28, 1604, the mortality ended. In thanksgiving, the statue was carried from the chapel to the city annually on that date for 300 years. The many ex votos in the chapel attest to further miracles and blessings over the centuries.
On May 11, 1947, the Virgin of Cayma returned again to the city of Arequipa, where Juan Cardinal Gualberto Guevara, Archbishop of Lima and Primate of Peru, crowned her statue at a splendid ceremony in the Plaza de Armas.
Sources include:
 | Municipalidad de Cayma, municayma.gob.pe/portal |
| "La Virgen Candelaria de Cayma, Arequipa," El Perú necesita de Fátima, www.fatima.org.pe/seccion-verarticulo-61.html, photo and information |
Also commemorated this date:
| Notre-Dame de Fatima, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, France. Monumental marble statue blessed, 1958. |
| Madonna di Provvidenza, Cussanio, Fossano, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy. Apparition, 1521, to deaf-mute shepherd Bartolomeo Coppa. |
| Beata Vergine della Caravina, Valsolda, Como, Lombardy, Italy. Pietà painting wept, 1562; commemorated annually. Festa Sept. 8. |
| Santa Maria della Misericordia, Castelleone, Cremona, Lombardy, Italy (St. Mary of Mercy). Apparition, 1511. Festa. |
| Madonna della Salute, Macerata, Marche, Italy (Madonna of Health). 1666 painting by Sassoferrato crowned, 1749. |
| Santissima Annunziata, Gaeta, Latina, Latium, Italy. Church consecrated, 1354. |
| Nostra Signora Regina della Pace, Belpasso, Catania, Sicily, Italy (Our Lady Queen of Peace). Apparition, 1986, to Rosario Toscano, 14. |
| Madonna dello Scoglio, Placanica, Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy (Madonna of the Rock). Apparition, 1968, to Cosimo Fragomeni, 14. |
| Medonne du Tremelizze, Molfetta, Bari, Puglia, Italy. Thanksgiving procession for help during earthquake of May 11, 1560. |
| St. Mary, Esk Valley, Canterbury, New Zealand. Anglican church consecrated, 1880. |
| Immaculate Conception, Castries, Saint Lucia. Church blessed, 1899; elevated to the status of a Minor Basilica, 1999. |
| Virgen de la Cabeza, Rute, Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain (Virgin of the Head). Fiestas. |
| Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, Vélez Málaga, Málaga, Andalucia, Spain. Statue crowned, 2002. Procession 2nd Sun. Nov. |
| Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, L'viv, Ukraine. Icon donated to the Church of St George, 1182 (Apr. 28 old style). |