Abode of the Blessed Virgin of the Merciful (Virgen de la Caridad) description and photos - Cuba: Santiago de Cuba (Topic)

Abode of the Blessed Virgin (Virgen de la Caridad) description and photos - Cuba: Santiago de Cuba. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Virgen de la Caridad.

Photo and description

The Abode of the Blessed Virgin of the Merciful, especially revered in Cuba, Madame de la Caridad, is located 18 km from the city of Santiago de Cuba, in the small village of El Cobre miners.

A snow-white basilica rises majestically on a green hill above a dense wild forest. She carefully preserves the image of the patroness of Cuba, whose appearance is still considered a great miracle. According to legend, in the morning of 1607, two Indian boys were sent by the owner to search for salt on the shores of the Nipe Bay. However, a storm and bad weather prevented them from following the order. After three days of searching, the teenagers boarded a boat and decided to go to the salt mines. And then, in the thick fog, they found a bale that was floating towards them in the seething waters. A statuette no more than 30 cm was hidden in it.And on a small plate the inscription shone: “Yo soy la Virgen de la Caridad”, which means “I am the Blessed Virgin of Mercy”. In the left hand of the Virgin was a baby, the right one was raised for blessing. The guys took the statuette to their owner - Francisco Sanchez de Moya, manager of the copper mines, who immediately ordered to build a skete where the shrine would be kept.

Three years later, a little girl saw the image of the Most Pure Virgin on the hills of El Cobre, after which a decision was made to build a basilica. And the chapel has stood since 1830, and keeps many offerings, including the gold medal of the Nobel laureate, the famous writer Ernest Hemingway.

In 1916, Pope Benedict XV solemnly proclaimed Madame de la Caridad, the Most Pure Virgin of the Merciful, the holy mistress and patroness of Cuba. Pilgrims from all over Latin America rise to the monastery on their knees. The power and patronage of the Virgin is considered truly fantastic, and the flow of people full of hope and faith does not dry out all year round.

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Topic: Abode of the Blessed Virgin of the Merciful (Virgen de la Caridad) description and photos - Cuba: Santiago de Cuba.