Mary came in person to invite Venezuelans to receive the gift of faith

Given that the Spanish conquest of Venezuela was not without controversy, the natives sometimes equated resistance to the conquistadores' domination with rejection of the missionaries' Gospel. Against this historical backdrop, the Shrine of Coromoto (Guanare) where the Virgin Mary herself invited the natives to receive the gift of faith, stands out beautifully. The basilica of Our Lady of Coromoto is now a national shrine.

Numerous towns placed themselves under the patronage of the Virgin Mary. For example, in 1570, the city of Trujillo elected Our Lady of Peace as its patron saint. And in 1766, the capital, Caracas, was named "City of Mary", with the engraved inscription: "Hail Mary, conceived without sin at the first moment of her natural existence."

Mary's name was especially inscribed in people's hearts: her protective solicitude was felt in 1638, when a beetle threatened to destroy the rich cocoa plantations; in 1766, when the victims of an earthquake emerged unscathed from the rubble of Caracas, and in 1813-1815 during the War of Independence against the Spanish. The libertadores, Simón Bolívar and Antonio José de Sucre, placed their troops under the protection of the Virgin Mary and came to thank her afterwards.

From a Marian perspective, the 20th century was marked by the placing of the nation in the hands of Mary (Consecration) on January 27, 1985, in Caracas, and by the officially approved apparitions that took place in Betania from 1976 to 2001. The Virgin Mary first appeared to Maria Esperanza, a stigmatist, then was seen by numerous witnesses. She appeared under the title of "Our Lady, Reconciler of Peoples".

The Mary of Nazareth team

Marian Encyclopedia