Colombia, a country of Marian devotion

The Spanish colonizers arrived in the region of Colombia around 1500. The indigenous Chibchas (or Muiscas) and Taironas tribes were either decimated or conquered. The independence movement began in 1810 and triumphed in 1819.

Political divisions led in 1830 to the separation of the departments that then made up "Great Colombia": Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia. Following this separation, internal divisions remained, triggering a civil war that led to the secession of Panama in 1903, with the interference of the United States.

Colombia experienced armed conflict from the 1960s until 1991, involving guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and extreme right-wing paramilitary groups warring against each other and against the Colombian government. In addition, drug trafficking is a major source of tension.

However, in Colombia, not only do parishes have Marian names, but also regions, rivers, mountains, beaches, towns and villages and streets are named for the Virgin Mary. The whole country has a strong attachment to Mary. During the reign of Pope Pius XII, the president of Colombia recited the Little Office of Our Lady every Saturday, the deputies placed themselves under the protection of Mary and promised to defend the mystery of her Immaculate Conception, the soldiers fought with a rosary in their hands and proclaimed Mary their captain. And Pius XII called this country "Mary's Garden".

The National Shrine of Colombia is the Basilica of Our Lady of Las Lajas, located in southern Colombia, near the small town of Ipiales.

But it is the Basilica of Chiquinquirá, which houses the image of the Virgen de Chiquinquirá, the patroness saint of Colombia, that Pope John Paul II consecrated the country to the Virgin Mary on July 3, 1986. Both are major pilgrimage sites.

Marian Encyclopedia