Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Cuba
Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre is the patron saint of Cuba. Her shrine is 27 km from Santiago de Cuba, in the village of El Cobre, which has mostly worked copper for more than 4 centuries. The devotion to the Virgin of Charity began in the early seventeenth century. It is said that there were three men, two natives and a young Afro-Cuban of about ten, who reportedly found this statue in 1612 when it floated in on the waters of the Bay of Nipe. The words I am the Virgin of Charity were inscribed on its base. The Virgin is depicted with the infant Jesus resting on her left arm and with a cross in her right hand. @@@First placed in the village of Barajagua, it was then moved permanently to the village of El Cobre, where the inhabitants, in 1648, built her first chapel.But gradually, the chapel was enlarged and, in 1680, became a church. The reputation of the miraculous Virgin extends to the whole island, attracting the devotion of all its inhabitants without distinction. Whether white, mestizo, indigenous, mulatto or Afro-Cuban, all come to implore her intervention. Flowers are always blossoming around the shrine. It lies on a hill and you have to climb 240 stairs to reach it. Inside, the Chapel of Miracles houses the ex-voto's that all those who have obtained a grace from the Virgin have left there. Above the high altar of the basilica, the Virgin and Child Jesus each bear a golden crown.The image of St. Mary points us to the religious syncretism of the Cubans: the natives assimilate her with Atabey, the native goddess, and African Oshun, the goddess, mistress of Water. For Cubans, the Virgin is also a patriotic symbol. It is before this image of the Virgin that, in May 19, 1801, the Decree of the King was read, granting freedom to slaves who worked the copper mines of El Cobre. And it is here in 1868 during the War of Independence that separatist rebels—the Mamba—place themselves in the hands of the Virgin Mambisa so that she give them victory against the Spanish forces, and here again the fighters of the army of liberation, after independence, officially celebrated her birthday, September 8, 1898. Our Lady of Charity was declared patroness of Cuba by Benedict XV, on May 10th, 1916, at the request of the veterans of the War of Independence. A few years later, in 1927, the statue, 84 cm high, was carried into a much larger sanctuary, and in 1936, she was solemnly crowned by a delegation from Pope Pius XI.Later, after the victory of the Revolution of 1959, relations between the Church and the communist government became strained, but the National Shrine of Our Lady of El Cobre was still elevated to a minor basilica in 1977 by Paul VI.In 1998, John Paul II came to Santiago de Cuba and visited the shrine of the Virgin. There he crowns this most holy marian image, Queen and Patroness of Cuba. Finally, in August 2010, after 51 years absence, the Virgin of El Cobre is again taken in procession through the streets of Cuba, a symbol of devotion, patriotism and reconciliation.In keeping with the usual Marian devotion, on September 8th pilgrims flock to the shrine, with flowers and candles. Some limit themselves to prayer, others climb the stairs on their knees to the Basilica, and others take the arm of a family member with a disability. The faithful bring with them small stones containing particles of copper, a symbol of protection and love of their holy Mother, Queen and Patroness of Cuba.Prayer to Our Lady of CharityMessenger of peace,come from the sea, floating on the water,You are the Mother of all Cubans,We come to you, Holy Mother of Godto honor you with our childlike love.In your motherly heart, we depositour anxieties and hopes,our sorrows and our petitions.For our torn country so that we come, all together, torebuild peace and harmony.Sites :