The Virgin of the Rosary (II)

On Friday December 26, 1586, the faded, damaged picture was strangely restored. It now looked brand new. The healing of the image continued as small tears in the canvas self-sealed. It still has traces of its former damage, and the figures seem brighter from a distance than up close. For another 300 years the painting hung unprotected. Thousands of objects were touched against the frail cotton cloth by pilgrims. This rough treatment should have destroyed it, but it still kept self-healing itself and survives. Pope Pius VII declared Our Lady of Chiquinquirá patroness of Colombia in 1829, and granted a special liturgy. In 1897 a thick glass plate was placed over it for protection against the weather and the excessive touching of the faithful. The image was canonically crowned in 1919, and in 1927 her sanctuary declared a Basilica.