Virgin of Suyapa

The Virgin of Suyapa is a 6 cm (2.3 in) statue that is the patron saint of Honduras. The statue is kept in Suyapa, a suburb of the capital Tegucigalpa, and toured through various other parts of the country each year in early February. Many thousands of people from all over Central America come and visit the statue on her name day, a commemoration of the day she was found. The statue has been stolen and then recovered on two occasions. [ [http://www.marrder.com/htw/nov2000/cultural.htm Article on the virgin] ]

Discovery

There are several different versions of how the statue that is the Virgin of Suyapa was discovered. The version that has become standard is recounted below.

Many Hondurans believe the statue was miraculously discovered in late-January or early-February 1747 by a labourer, Alejandro Colindres. Colindres and an 8 year old boy had been sent by Colindres's mother to clear some corn fields on Piligüin mountain, northeast of Teguicgalpa. On the way back, they were overtaken by nightfall and decided to sleep outside. Colindres was awakened by a sharp pain in the side, and discovered that he was sleeping on something. Later versions of the story claim that without looking at it, Colindres threw it as far away as he could, only to find it underneath him as he lay down again. This detail is not present in early versions of the story. The next morning Colindres discovers that he's been sleeping on the tiny statue of a virgin which he took home with him and set up in his mother's house on the family altar. For the next 20 years it remained on the family's altar in their house. It was not until 1768 that the statue was credited with its first recognized miracle and began to attract public attention. By 1777, a chapel was constructed for the statue.

Veneration

The statue of the Virgin remained in Colindres's mother's house for 20 years, until the first miracle was recorded in 1768. At that time the family began collecting funds to build a chapel, which was completed in 1777. Pope Pius XII declared her a Saint, Our Lady of Suyapa, Patron Saint of Honduras, and selected February 3 as her feast day in 1925. In the 1950s a large Basilica was built next to the chapel. The Virgin spends most of her time in the chapel, but every year before the celebration of her festival, the Virgin is moved into the larger church to accommodate the crowds.

The Virgin of Suyapa has a group of lay caretakers, all male, known as the Orden de los Caballeros de Suyapa, founded in the 20th century. They are responsible for caring for the image, and the small chapel. They escort the statue whenever it leaves the chapel to travel around Honduras, as it often does every February.

She is considered to have miraculous powers. The swift ending of the Football War between Honduras and El Salvador is attributed to the statue. Many of the Honduran soldiers involved reported visions of the Virgin, which calmed their fears during the fighting.

References

* Barceló Morey, Jose. 2000. La Inmaculada Concepción de María en Honduras: La Inmaculada Concepción de Suyapa, Patrona de Honduras. San Pedro Sula: Editorial/Librería Coello
* Valladares B., Juan R. 1946. La Virgen de Suyapa (historia documentada). Lalalala Tegucigalpa: Tallereres Tipo-Lito.

External links

* [http://www.virgendesuyapa.hn/ Official Catholic church site] Spanish
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* [http://espanol.geocities.com/virgen_de_suyapa Article in Spanish on sources of the story]