“Mary did not star in anything, she ‘discipled’ her entire life. The first disciple of her Son and she was aware that everything she had brought into the world was pure gratuitousness from God, consciousness of gratuitousness,” said Pope Francis in his meeting with priests and religious in Ecuador during his visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Presentation of Quinche in July 2015.
The festival of the Virgin of Quinche, Patron Saint of Ecuador, is celebrated on November 21 and her devotees affectionately call her “La Pequeñita.” Some traditions say that at the end of the 16th century the Virgin Mary appeared to some Indians in a cave and promised to free them from the bears that were devouring children.
Receive the main news from ACI Prensa by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channels today:
On the other hand, the artist Don Diego de Robles carved a beautiful wooden sculpture of the Virgin Mary with the child in her arms and since those who had requested it did not pay him, he decided to give it to the Oyacachi Indians, in exchange for some planks of wood. fine cedar for your work.
The chiefs were amazed when they saw the Marian image because they recognized in it the features of the Lady who appeared to them in the cave. For fifteen years the image was in the care of the Indians, until in 1604 the Bishop ordered it to be moved to the town of Quinche.
The image is 62 centimeters high and wears beautiful clothing. The face of the baby Jesus evokes the features of the little mestizos of the place. The color of the Virgin is a synthesis of the soul of the Inca and the Spanish. It was canonically crowned in 1943 and its current temple was declared a National Shrine in 1985.
In honor of the Virgin of Quinche, songs have been sung in Quechua, Spanish, Jíbaro and other dialects of the region. Many of them have been sung for several centuries. In the month of November, thousands of devotees undertake a walk to the Sanctuary to thank the Mother of God or ask for a special favor.
Quinche comes from the Quechua “Quin” which means sun and “Chi” which means mountain. Before the arrival of the Spanish, one of the main temples dedicated to the “sun god” was located in that region.
Central Editorial
The Catholic Information Agency – ACI Prensa, is part of the news agencies of the ACI Group, one of the largest generators of Catholic news content in five languages and which has belonged since June 2014 to the EWTN Global Catholic Network family, the largest Catholic television network in the world, founded in 1981 by Mother Angelica in Irondale, Alabama (United States), and which reaches more than 85 million homes in 110 countries and 16 territories.