Heaven and earth meet in Colombia: the Las Lajas shrine (1754)

On September 16, 1754, Rosa, who had been a deaf-mute since birth, witnessed an apparition of Mary and the Child Jesus while she was with her mother in the canyon formed by the Guaitara River, not far from the town of Ipiales (Colombia). She suddenly was able to speak and exclaimed at the astonishing presence of this beautiful lady with her child and the two men accompanying them. The villagers were convinced of the truth of Rosa's story when the scene depicting the apparition was strangely printed on the wall of the cave for all to see. The image soon aroused devout fervor throughout the region, and the sanctuary of Las Lajas was built there in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary. It is now one of the most important pilgrimage sites in South America.

Colombian Neo-Gothic Basilica of the Sanctuary of Las Lajas, Ipiales / © CC BY-SA

Reasons to believe:

Similarly to the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, geologists have determined that there is no paint or any other pigment on the surface of the rock; the colors are the colors of the rock itself, and they penetrate into the rock evenly for several feet.
The preservation of the image in a very humid environment for 269 years is unheard of. The surface, inexplicably preserved of any vegetal or organic elements (no trace of dust, insects or humidity) and the depth to which the "painting" penetrated the rock remain enigmas.

The image is identical in every way to Rosa's description of what the apparition had looked like a few days earlier, and she herself had no way of imprinting it herself on that rock.

Maria, the seer's mother, had no reason to invent a made-up story. As a simple Indian housemaid employed by an important family in Ipiales, with no money and no connections, such a fabrication would have cost her dearly at every level.

Rosa's miraculous cure amazed the villagers since they had known the little girl all of her life and knew her to be a deaf-mute.

Dozens of cures obtained at the shrine have been authenticated by doctors and priests, which remain inexplicable given our current state of medical and scientific knowledge.

The longevity of the pilgrimage is astounding; it has never been interrupted, despite the serious crises the country has experienced: the Spanish War of Independence in 1810, the Thousand Days War in 1899, the coup d'état in 1957, the conflict with FARC, etc.

The Church, at both diocesan and Vatican level, has always supported the pilgrimage, construction of successive chapels, then erection of the current basilica, authorisation of public worship in 1951, crowning of Our Lady of the Rosary the following year, elevation of the church to the rank of basilica minor in 1954, etc.

Summary:

On September 16, 1754, local indigenous woman María Mueses de Quiñones, a servant in the service of a middle-class family, and her daughter Rosa, a deaf-mute, were returning home to Ipiales, a small town in southern Colombia, about ten kilometres from the Ecuadorian border. They hurried, because a storm was imminent. Passing through the canyon of the Guaitara river they reached a waterfall eighty metres high. A little further on, lightning shattered the silence and torrential rain began to fall.

Maria and her daughter looked for shelter in the natural crevices formed by the rocks. Rosa, who hadn't said a word since she was born, suddenly exclaimed: "Mum, come and see this lady carrying a child in her arms and accompanied by two gentlemen!" Maria didn't know what to say or do: her daughter has just spoken for the first time! Soaked to the bone, she took her daughter's hand and walked with her towards this "feminine silhouette" illuminated by the lightning of the storm. Since she didn't see anything, so told Rosa to leave the place, but the little girl insisted: "Mummy, the Lady is calling me!"

At first, Rosa's story left many people skeptical. However, the people of Ipiales not explain the fact that the child was now able to hear and speak. The priests were cautious, but Rosa's healing astounded them.

A few days later, Maria and her daughter returned to the apparition site. Rosa felt a mysterious force urging her to go to a cave a few dozen metres away. Her mother followed a few steps behind. When she reached the entrance to the cave, she knelt down for a moment and then went inside. Maria came running. A shiver ran through both of them: in front of them, on the far wall, they discovered a painted image of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus, holding a rosary and surrounded by two men whose identities neither Maria nor Rosa knew.

They hurried to Ipiales to tell the parish priest, Fr. Gabriel Villafuerte, who this time was convinced by the witnesses' accounts. Informed by the priest, the townsfolk went to the grotto. The mysterious, miraculous image was there. Women, men and children knelt down. The bishop in turn was alerted. The pilgrimage of Our Lady of the Rosary was born.

From then on, the image became an object of veneration. Observers, ecclesiastics and lay people, Spaniards and native Colombians, noticed that the two figures surrounding the Virgin were Saint Dominic and Saint Francis of Assisi, two saints particularly loved in Colombia. They also noticed that the quality of the image had not deteriorated over time. This, and the origin of the image, remain mysteries.

The first shrine was a wood and straw hut. Miracles took place there: healings, sudden conversions, religious vocations, etc. Around 1795, this chapel was replaced by a seven-metre long brick chapel, proving the durability and growth of the pilgrimage. In 1802, work began on a new, larger and more beautiful church. It was replaced at the end of the 19th century by a new building linked to the opposite side of the canyon by a bridge. Finally, the current neo-Gothic basilica was built between 1916 and the 1950s directly against the rock face. A fifty-metre-high bridge provides access from the opposite bank of the Guaitara River. The shrine itself is beautiful and quite unique in its architecture and topography.

The miraculous image, unchanged for 269 years and located at the back of the basilica, is admired by streams of pilgrims, particularly during the celebrations in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary of Las Lajas every September. Public worship was officially authorised in 1951, and the Virgin, patron saint of Ipiales, was crowned at the request of Pope Pius XII.

Patrick Sbalchiero

Beyond reasons to believe:

At the shrine of Las Lajas, set in a stunningly beautiful natural setting, worship has been approved and continuous since the 18th century, and attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims every year from all over South America.

Going further:

David Pereyra, "Privileged Places of Marian Piety in South America", in The Changing World Religion Map: Sacred Places, Identities, Practices and Politics, Dordrecht, Springer, 2015, p. 589.

More information:

The Apostolic Letter of Pope Saint Paul VI (26 April 1965), Tutela caelestis, vol. 68, 1966, no. 1, p. 45-46.
Article "Painted By Angels". . . Colombia's Miracle Portrait of Virgin & Child by Paul Likoudis
Article Our Lady of Las Lajas, Colombia, 1754, by John Carpenter