OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY

Day 169: October 28

Our Lady of the Rosary of Paraute, Lagunillas, Zulia, Venezuela



Lake Maracaibo, a giant lake in the form of a teardrop suspended from the Gulf of Venezuela in the northwest of the country, was home to several native communities built on stilts. The Pueblo Viejo River, formerly called Paraute, enters the lake in the town of Lagunillas de Agua. On October 28, 1651, an Indian sitting in a house on stilts recovered a piece of wood that continued to float on the water. An image was found that Catholics identified as the Virgin of the Rosary. Displayed in the church, it has become an object of pilgrimage and celebration every year on October 28. Despite its watery location, the town of Lagunillas have burned repeatedly. However, the image was always saved and now resides in the church of the district of Morochas.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"Hail Mary, ever Virgin, temple of the Lord, vessel of the Holy Spirit, you alone, without equal, have pleased Our Lord Jesus Christ. Holy Mary, help of the needy, aid of the weak, console the suffering, pray for all people, intervene for the clergy and intercede for religious women."

(Ascension, trans. Louis Caputo, Vocationist Fathers, New Jersey, 1997, p. 383)

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