Have you seen the miraculous image of Our Lady of Las Lajas?
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Catholics are familiar with Our Lady of Guadalupe and how she miraculously appeared on St. Juan Diego's tilma in such a unique way as to evangelize the native people in Mexico and the surrounding region.
What many do not know is that she reportedly appeared on a separate occasion in Colombia in 1754. Instead of appearing on a piece of cloth, the Virgin Mary miraculously appeared in a cave.
Remarkable appearance
Lacy at Catholic Icing briefly relates the story of the apparition:
As the legend goes, in 1754, an indigenous woman named Maria Meneses de Quiñones was traveling along the river with her daughter, Rosa, who was deaf and unable to speak ... the two were caught in a strong storm, and sought refuge among the lajas [sandstone ledges] of the area, which provided some cave-like shelter. To Maria’s astonishment, she heard her daughter speak for the first time in her life: “There is a woman here with a boy in her arms!” Rosa pointed to a silhouette of a woman and child above the lajas, made visible by the lightning of the storm.
The image resembles Our Lady of Guadalupe in many ways, as she is wearing a similar mantle that has patterns which echo the tilma. She is holding the child Jesus in her arms while St. Francis and St. Dominic kneel in humble supplication.
She is also depicted as a "Mestiza," a woman of mixed Spanish and Indigenous descent, similar to how Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego.
One of the most amazing parts of the story is that the image that appeared on the rock was somehow imprinted on it, according to some accounts. Fr. Donald Calloway explains the scientific studies that have been done in an article for Catholic Exchange:
Geologists have since bored core samples from several places in the rock and discovered that there is no paint, dye, or pigment on the surface of the rock. The colors of the mysterious image are the colors of the rock itself and extend several feet deep inside the rock! The only man-made aspects of the miraculous image are the crowns above the heads of Jesus and Mary that were later added by local devotees.
A large shrine has since been constructed over the cave, and pilgrims can see for themselves the miraculous image.
While it may not be well-known outside of Colombia, it remains one of the many marvels of the Virgin Mary's reported appearances.
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