Our Lady of Charity
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Our Lady of Charity(Spanish: "Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre" or simply "La Caridad Del Cobre") is a 17th century Roman Catholic Cuban miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary. Intensely popular amongst the Cuban people, she has been proclaimed patroness of Cuba by the Catholic Church. A shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Charity is located in the mining town of El Cobre, outside Santiago de Cuba. In Santería, the goddess Ochún has been syncrenized with her. She is nicknamed "Cachita" by Cubans. Her feastday is on September 8.
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[edit] History
The story behind the La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, happened around 1608 (sometime between 1604 and 1612 depending on the source). Two brothers, Rodrigo and Juan de Hoyos, and their slave, Juan Moreno, set out to the Bay of Nipe for salt. They are traditionally called the "three Juans". They needed the salt for the preservation the meat at the Barajagua slaughter house, which supplied the workers and inhabitants of Santiago del Prado, now known as El Cobre. While out in the bay, a storm arose, rocking their tiny boat violently with restless waves. Juan, the slave, was wearing a medal with the image of the Virgin Mary. The three men began to pray for her protection. Suddenly, the skies cleared, and the storm was gone. In the distance, they saw a strange object floating in the water. They rowed towards it as the waves brought it towards them. At first they mistook it for a bird, but quickly saw that it was what seemed to be a statue a girl. At last they were able to determine that it was a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus on her right arm and holding a gold cross in her left hand. The statue was fastened to a board with an inscription saying "Yo Soy la Virgen de la Caridad" or "I am the Virgin of Charity." The statue was dressed with real cloth and the Virgin had real hair and skin of a mixed woman. Much to their surprise, the statue remained completely dry while afloat in the water.
Preserved in the General Archive of the Indies of Seville, a testimony of Juan Moreno, given in 1687, says the following:
“Having camped in the French Key, which is in the middle of the Bay of Nipe, waiting for a good time to leave for the salt mines, being a morning of calm seas, they left the French Keys, before daybreak. The aforementioned Juan y Rodrigo de Hoyos and myself, embarked in a canoe, headed for the salt mines, and far from the French Key we saw something white above the foam of the water, which we couldn’t distinguish. As we got closer, birds and dry branches appeared. The aforementioned Indians said, 'It looks like a girl.' While they were discussing, they saw an image of Our Lady, the Holy Virgin, on top of a small wooden plank, holding the baby Jesus in her arms. On this small tablet, was written in large letters, which read , 'I am the Virgin of Charity.' Looking at her clothes, they realized that they were not wet. In seeing this, full of joy they each took only one third of salt and went to Barajagua."
Overjoyed by what they had discovered, they collected only a third of the salt they were supposed to collect and hurried back to Barajagua. They showed the statue to a government official, Don Francisco Sánchez de Moya, who then ordered a small chapel to be built in her honor. One night, Rodrigo went to visit they statue, but discovered that the image was gone. He organized a search party, but had no success in finding Our Lady of Charity. Then, the next morning, she was back on the altar, as if nothing had happened. This was inconcievable as the chapel had been locked. This event happened three times. The people of Barajagua came to the conclusion that she wanted to be in a different spot, so they took her to El Cobre. She was received with much joy in El Cobre, and the church there had its bells ring on her arrival. It was at this point that she became known as "Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre" or "Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre". Much to the dismay of people in El Cobre, the disappearance of the statue continued to happen.
One day, a young girl named Apolonia was playing outside, pursuing butterflies and picking flowers. She went towards the mountains of the Sierra Maestra, where she came across the statue on top of a small hill. There were those who did and those who did not believe the little girl's testimony, but in the end, the Virgin was taken to the spot of her discovery, where a church was erected for her. The story circulated around the island quickly. Many feel that the Virgin purposely chose to have her sanctuary in El Cobre because it is located in Oriente, a province that no longer exists due to communism. The nature there is the most stunning in Cuba, with its mountains, beaches, rivers, and thick forests. It was in Oriente that the first settlement in Cuba was made, Baracoa; it was in Oriente where the slaves were set free for the first time in 1868; it was in Oriente where Cubans first began to revolt against the Spaniards.
At the request of the veterans of the War of Independence, Our Lady of Charity was declared the patroness of Cuba by Pope Benedict XV in 1916 and solemnly crowned in the Eucharistic Congress held in Santiago de Cuba in 1936. Pope Paul VI raised her sanctuary to the category of Basilica in 1977.
[edit] The Statue
The head of the statue is of baked clay covered with a polished coat of fine white powder, possibly rice paste. A well shaped nose and a well-proportioned face with large eyes convey a gentleness that invites trust and prayer. Her skin is that of a mixed woman, either a mestiza or mulata. The Virgin is about sixteen inches high and her feet rest on a brilliant moon whose ends surround on both sides the silver cloud where three cherubs spread their golden wings. The Child, at the left side of the statue, raises a hand as if blessing, and in his other hand he holds a gold globe. The entire figure is covered by a heavy cloak which gives it a triangular shape.
The statue's was originally clothed in white, but the faithful have given her gold and silver colored robes. Typically, though, because she is a symbol of Cuban nationality, she is depicted in a white robe, a blue veil, and the Child Jesus in red: colors of the Cuban flag. Nowadays the Virgin's dress, a copy of a very early one, is of heavy lamé with gold threads, and has the national Cuban shield embroidered on her skirt.
She is also typically depicted with a small boat at her feet and in it the "Three Juans" who found her floating on the water. This does not exist in the older reproductions, which copied the statue.
[edit] Relation With Santería
Santería arose from the merging of Yoruba, an African religion, and Roman Catholicism. The Spaniards were setting out to not only conquer land, but to also convert people to their religion. The African slaves and Cuban natives, which were nearly wiped out, were difficult to convert. In order to avoid persecution by the Spanish, slaves secretly practiced their religion by simply changing the names of the Orisha with those of Catholic saints. Ochún is being the Orisha of love, matrimony, and motherhood. The Virgin Mary was syncronistically paired with Ochún.
[edit] Cultural Significance
As a result of Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution, countless Cubans emigrated to the United States and particularly to South Florida. This group of Cuban Exiles have remained strongly attached to La Caridad Del Cobre, and see her as a unifying figure representing their common cultural heritage.
[edit] External links
- Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre - Official Web Site - Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba (Spanish)
- Ermita de la Caridad (Spanish)
- Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (Spanish)
- www.lacaridaddelcobre.com (English)
