December 26
Virgen del Rosario, Chiquinquirá, Boyacá, Colombia
The miracle of the Virgin of Chiquinquirá is a case of
spontaneous renovation which transformed an obscure, faded picture into a
national icon. In 1562, Don Antonio de Santana wanted an image of Our Lady
of the Rosary for the private chapel on his encomienda (colonial fiefdom)
of Sutamarchan. The missionary assigned there, Dominican friar Andrés
Jadraque, went 16 miles east to Tunja to commission a painting of the
Virgin of the Rosary from the Sevillan artist Alonso de Narváez. Painted
with natural pigments on a 44"x49" native cotton cloth, the
Virgin stands, holding her Child, on an upturned crescent. Both hold
rosaries. Filling the canvas on either side are the name saints of the men
who ordered the painting, Anthony and Andrew. But in Antonio de Santana's
damp, thatch-roofed chapel the work so deteriorated that in 1578, when a
new priest came to Sutamarchan, he ordered it removed from the altar.
Antonio's wife, Catalina García de Irlos, stored it at their hacienda 13
miles west in Chiquinquirá, where she lived after his death in 1582. In
1586, María Ramos, wife of one of Antonio's relatives, Pedro de Santana,
recently come from Seville, moved in with Catalina. María set up an
oratory in the house and told Catalina she would like to furnish it with
an image of the Virgin, so Catalina got the ex-altarpiece out of storage,
and María hung it in her little chapel.
On December 26, 1586, as María was leaving the room after prayers, the painting fell. A native woman named Isabel exclaimed, "Look!" The picture stood upright, glowing, its colors deep and its torn fabric restored. More miracles, a church investigation, and a series of church buildings followed. Although the picture faded with time, devotion increased. The Colombian patronal feast of the Virgin of Chiquinquirá commemorates the canonical crowning of the painting on July 9, 1919. The Basilica celebrates both that day and December 26 with a novena, vigil fireworks, street procession, and mass in Plaza Libertad.
Source: the Sanctuary's website, www.virgendechiquinquira.com
Also celebrated this date:
 | Synaxis of the Mother of God, Byzantine and Melkite Catholic Churches |
| Praises of the Mother of God, Maronite Catholic Church |
| Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Andacollo, Coquimbo, Chile. Statue crowned, 1901; Fiesta Grande. (Fiesta Chica commemorates blessing of new statue first Sunday in October, 1676.) |
| Nuestra Señora de los Pobres, Zacatecoluca, La Paz, El Salvador (Our Lady of the Poor), patron of La Paz. Fiesta commemorates rainfall that quenched a ranch fire in 1840, sparing the town after prayers to the Virgin. |
| Notre-Dame de Lourdes, Saint-Michel-le-Cloucq, Vendée, Pays de la Loire, France, Brelouze area. First of 46 grottoes in Vendée installed, 1872. Pilgrimage August 15. |
| Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Alfarim, Sesimbra, Lisboa, Portugal. Town's patronal festa: mass, procession, dance, concert, fireworks. |
| Nuestra Señora de Altagracia, Curiepe, Miranda, Venezuela (Our Lady of High Grace). Town's patronal fiesta; pontifical mass, procession, fireworks. |