Our Lady of Suyapa , or Virgin of Suyapa , is a Marian devotion of the Catholic religion found in the Basilica of Suyapa , in Tegucigalpa , Honduras . Its representation is a dark statue of cedar of 6.5 cm, possibly carved by a novice artist; with an oval head and straight hair at shoulder length, and her hands placed in a prayer position. It is held attached to a gold frame decorated with rays of light and stars at the top, and dressed in fine silk and silver clothing. 1 ​2

 

The celebration of La Morenita , as it is commonly called, is a reason for pilgrimage every year from different parts of the country and Central America . 3 ​4

 

History

Discovery

There have been many versions of the discovery of the Virgin of Suyapa, with minor variations in the details. The most widely known and accepted among her devotees is that of her miraculous discovery by farm worker Alejandro Colindres in late January or early February 1747. The story goes that Colindres and an 8-year-old boy were sent by the former’s mother, Isabel Colindres, to clear corn fields on the Piliguín mountain, northeast of Tegucigalpa . On their way back, night fell and they decided to sleep outside. Colindres was kept awake by a sharp pain in his side, and realized he was lying on something, unable to see what it was because of the darkness. He would pick up and throw away whatever was bothering him, but when he went back to bed it was there again. The next morning, Colindres discovered that it was a statuette of a virgin, which he then took to his mother’s house in Villa de Suyapa, currently a neighborhood of the capital. There a wooden altar was made for him, where the family’s acquaintances went to pray. 3

 

The first written accounts of the discovery of the statue do not mention the name of the peasant who found it. Some claim that he kept the object that bothered him and realized that it was a virgin until he reached his destination, or that he gave up throwing it away when he noticed that it emanated an aroma. The identity of Isabel Colindres, who in an ancient document is listed as Alexander’s sister, also varies. 5

 

 

Monument in his honor, placed in January 2012. Plaza de las Banderas, in front of the first entrance to UNAH , near the Basilica.

Veneration

The statuette of the Virgin remained on the altar of the Colindres family for 21 years, until in 1768 it was credited with its first miracle and began to attract public attention. It was the healing of Don José Zelaya Midence, who suffered from bladder stones, which he expelled after receiving the Virgin in his house and asking for his health. 5 After its first miracle, the Colindres family began to raise funds to build a chapel, which was completed in 1777.

 

In 1925, Pope Pius XI declared her Patroness of Honduras under the title of Our Lady of Suyapa and declared February 3 as her feast day. In the 1950s, a large basilica was built next to the chapel, named the Basilica of Suyapa . Today, the statuette of the Virgin spends most of its time in the chapel, but each year it is moved to the Basilica of Suyapa on the day of her celebration to accommodate the crowds of people who come to see it, both from Honduras and Central America .

 

The statue of the Virgin has a group of caretakers, all men, known as the Order of the Knights of Suyapa; founded in the  20th century , which is responsible for taking care of the Virgin and her chapel. They also accompany the Virgin at all times when she leaves the chapel to travel or tour Honduras, as she often does every February of each year.