Apparitions of Our Lady of Coromoto in Venezuela (III)

Meanwhile, according to tradition, the chief tried to return to the jungle, but he was bitten by a poisonous snake on the way. He then had a change of heart towards God and asked for baptism. A Christian passing by poured water on his head. The chief did not die and he became one of the apostles of Our Lady. The enthusiasm of this Indian community was so great that a priest was sent for to minister to them. The capuchin Brother Jose de Najera was given the charge of this village called San-José-de-la-Aparicion (St Joseph of the Apparition). This village disappeared one year after huge floods, but the place of the apparition became a place of pilgrimage under the name of "Our Lady of Coromoto." On March 1, 1942, the Venezuelan Episcopate, joined together in plenary session, proclaimed the Virgin of Coromoto patron of Venezuela. On October 7, 1944, Pope Pius XII ratified the decree of the bishops, and officially declared in a brief of the Holy See Our Lady of Coromoto patron of Venezuela and crowned the statue. He set up the shrine in a basilica, which Pope John Paul II visited in 1985.