marian anniversaries     december

December 18

Virgen de la Soledad, Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

One version of the story is that a mule with no owner wandered into a pack train on its way from Veracruz to Guatemala City. On December 18, 1620, when the group reached Oaxaca, the mule fell down outside the church of St. Sebastian, which contained a chapel to the Virgin of Soledad. The animal wouldn't budge, so the drivers took the large box off its back and found inside a statue of the resurrected Jesus and the head and hands for an image of the Virgin. Some say the mule then arose with renewed energy. Others say it died. In any case, the Virgin's statue, clothed in beautiful garments that hide her missing body, became a focus of devotion in southern Mexico. In 1670, Bishop Sariñana y Cuenca consecrated her sanctuary, later adorned with an intricate baroque facade. Pope Pius X authorized the statue to be crowned on January 18, 1909. In 1959 the Vatican honored the church with the title of Basilica Minor. Usually translated "Solitude," Soledad here really means grief. The Virgen de la Soledad is the mourning mother of the crucified Jesus, between Good Friday and Easter. She is the patron saint of Oaxaca, where her fiesta on this date is far from sorrowful. Costumed natives arrive in procession to perform traditional dances outside the church. 

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