Our Lady of Coromoto ( es, Nuestra Señora de Coromoto), also known as the Virgin of Coromoto ( es, Virgen de Coromoto), is a celebrated

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

image of an alleged apparition of 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 ...

. In 1942, she was declared the

Patroness Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

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 ...

Apparition

When the city of

Guanare Guanare () is the capital and most populated city of Portuguesa State, Venezuela. It is where la Virgen de Coromoto is said to have appeared to a Coromoto Indian. Guanare was founded on 3 November 1591 by João Fernandes de Leão Pacheco (15 ...

(capital of Portuguesa state) was founded in 1591, the Indian tribe who inhabited the region, the Cospes, fled to the northern jungle. When the Roman Catholic Church began to evangelize, its efforts were at first resisted. There is a legend that the Virgin Mary appeared twice to the chief of the local tribe, once in 1651 in a river canyon when she told him to be baptised, and again, when he was still refusing baptism, on September 8, 1652, when she appeared in his hut. This time he is said to have tried to grab her and she vanished, leaving behind a small painting of her.

Veneration

The Venezuelan episcopate declared her as Patroness of

on 1 May 1942, which was ratified by Pope

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius B ...

on 7 October 1944. The church of Our Lady of Coromoto, in Guanare, was consecrated as National Shrine on 7 January 1996."During celebration to elevate national Shrine of Our Lady of Coromoto to the rank of Minor Basilica, Cardinal Urosa calls Catholics to 'assume with joy, enthusiasm and fidelity our condition as missionaries of Jesus Christ'", ''Agenzia Fides'', October 24, 2007
/ref> Pope

Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

elevated the National Shrine of Our Lady of Coromoto to the rank of Minor

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

crowned her on 11 September 1952.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

reiterated an imposed solemn coronation of Papal decree via Cardinal

Agostino Casaroli Agostino Casaroli (24 November 1914 – 9 June 1998) was an Italian Catholic priest and diplomat for the Holy See, who became Cardinal Secretary of State. He was the most important figure behind the Vatican's efforts to deal with the persecuti ...

on 10 February 1985.

Footnotes

External links

VENEZUELA VIRTUAL mipunto.com"Our Lady of Coromoto, Patroness of Venezuela", ''Oye! Magazine''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coromoto, Our Lady Of Shrines to the Virgin Mary Coromoto Catholic Church in Venezuela Marian apparitions Catholic devotions

Our Lady of Coromoto Our Lady of Coromoto ( es, Nuestra Señora de Coromoto), also known as the Virgin of Coromoto ( es, Virgen de Coromoto), is a celebrated Catholic image of an alleged apparition of the Virgin Mary. In 1942, she was declared the Patroness of Venezu ...

National symbols of Venezuela Catholic Mariology