Guanare, Portuguesa State, Venezuela · 1652
In the deep llanos of central Venezuela, in the autumn of 1652, the Mother of God appeared to the chief of the Cospes — a Coromoto Indian, a stranger to the Christian faith — and asked, in his own language, that he and his people receive baptism. The little image she left with him is the smallest of any approved Marian image in the world: only an inch in height, miraculously preserved. Our Lady of Coromoto is the patroness of all Venezuela.
The Cacique and the Cornfield
The Cospes — a Coromoto-speaking indigenous people — were among the last in central Venezuela to receive Christian missionaries. In September 1652, the Spanish encomendero Juan Sánchez had begun to evangelize them. The chief of the village, often referred to simply as the Cacique, was unwilling to accept baptism. He was crossing a stream near his cornfield with his wife when, by his testimony, a beautiful woman with a child in her arms rose from the water and said in his own Coromoto language: “Go to the white men’s house, and ask them to throw water on your head, that you may go to heaven.”
The Cacique was unmoved. The Lady appeared again on December 8 — the feast of the Immaculate Conception — in the doorway of his hut. He shouted at her to go away. She came forward; he tried to seize her; in his hand he held nothing but a small piece of parchment, scarcely an inch tall, on which her image was painted, perfectly: an icon of the Mother and Child not made by any human hand.
The Cacique died not long after, having received baptism on his deathbed. The little image was preserved. It has remained, undamaged, for nearly four centuries; the parchment is held in the great Sanctuary of Coromoto in Guanare. Pope Pius XII declared Our Lady of Coromoto the patroness of all Venezuela in 1944. Pope Saint John Paul II crowned the image in person on his 1996 visit to the country.
The Sanctuary Today
The National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Coromoto rises from the open plains of Portuguesa State. It is a great modern basilica with soaring stained glass and broad open courtyards built to receive pilgrim crowds. The miraculous parchment is enshrined behind glass in the very center of the sanctuary, illuminated and small.
On September 11, the feast of Our Lady of Coromoto, Venezuelans gather here from across the country, joined by thousands of pilgrims from the Venezuelan diaspora. The image — the smallest of all the great Marian images of the Americas — has been the symbol of Venezuelan Catholicism through every chapter of its turbulent national life.
A Prayer at Coromoto
Mother of Coromoto,
you who came to a Cacique
in his own forest, in his own language,
and left an image no human hand had made —
come to every people not yet baptized.
Come to every chief who has not yet bowed.
Come to every Venezuelan in exile.
Mother of the llanos, Mother of every people,
pray for us. Amen.
Live from Guanare
The National Sanctuary of Coromoto celebrates Mass and the Rosary, especially during the great patronal feast of September 11. Venezuelan Catholic media broadcast the celebrations to the worldwide diaspora.
Visit & Learn More
- Our Lady of Coromoto (overview): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Coromoto
- Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Coromoto
Journey with Mary: A Path to Jesus 