Our Lady of Divine Providence is a Marian devotion originating in Italy, whose beginnings date back to the 13th century. Over the centuries, this devotion has spread throughout the world; As reliable proof of this, today it is the most important Marian devotion in Puerto Rico.
For this reason, Pope Saint Paul VI declared Our Lady of Divine Providence as “Principal Patroness of the Puerto Rican Nation” on November 19, 1969.
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On that occasion, the Pope established that the day of its celebration would go from January 2, the anniversary of the image’s arrival to Puerto Rican lands, to November 19, the day Christopher Columbus set foot on the island of Borinquen for the first time (today Puerto Rico) during his second trip to America.
The Pope, with this, expressed his deepest intention: to unite around the Mother of God the two great affections of Puerto Ricans – the love for their land and the love for the Mother of God.
The history of Our Lady of Divine Providence in Puerto Rico begins in the mid-19th century, when the newly appointed bishop of the island, Mons. Gil Esteve y Tomás, brought with him this devotion, cultivated since his years as a seminarian.
The prelate, at that time, placed his diocese in the hands of Divine Providence, when upon arriving he saw the cathedral in ruins and that poverty was rampant among the residents.
Thanks to the intercession of the Virgin, the bishop’s efforts bore fruit and in less than five years the total reconstruction of what is now the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Juan de Puerto Rico was achieved. To preside over the central nave, Mons. Esteve had an image of Divine Providence carved in Barcelona (Spain), which remains in the temple to this day.
The image of Our Lady of Providence shows the Virgin Mary sitting with the baby Jesus sleeping on her lap, while she holds the left hand of little Jesus in her palms, in a prayer position.
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