Betania is a small village that exists in the parish of
Cúa
Cúa (founded in 1690) is a small city capital of the Urdaneta Municipality, located in the Miranda State (Estado Miranda) in the north of Venezuela with an altitude of 490 m. Cúa is noted for warm and clear weather, with year-round sunshine and ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. It is popularly known for the shrine of Our Lady of Betania, where retired Catholic Bishop Pio Bello Ricardo declared authentic a Eucharistic Miracle that occurred there.
Maria Esparanza, a resident of the village, claimed to see the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
starting in 1987. The Eucharistic Miracle is now housed in a convent in nearby Los Teques.
The name Betania means Bethany in Spanish. It was originally given this name by Maria Esperanza and was the site of their farm. Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary were reported and eventually a small chapel was built here and the faithful began to gather, especially on Feast Days but throughout the year. Many people reported seeing the Blessed Virgin Mary here as well as reports of cures.
Whilst the apparitions at the site were approved by Bishop Pio Bello Ricardo, there is no current evidence to suggest that these apparitions have a basis in reality.
One of the amazing mystical experiences occurred occasionally when a red rose would blossom from Maria Esperanza's chest.
Sources
Website on appearance of Mary at Betania
{{coord missing, Venezuela
Populated places in Miranda (state)