Our Lady of Quinche
Also known as
• La Pequeñita
• Virgen de Monte del Sol
• Virgin of the Rock
Profile
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the image of a cedar statue in Quinche, Ecuador. About two foot tall, it was carved in 1586 by Don Diego de Robles, an artist who created many other images of Mary. He carved it on order from the Lumbici Indians, who were unable to pay for it at delivery. Diego traded the statue to the Oyacachi Indians in exchange for a large load of cedar for future projects.
Legend says that the vision of Our Lady appeared in a cave to some of the Oyacachi, promising to the protect their children; the image Diego brought for trade looked just like the lady in the vision. The Oyacachi asked Diego to stay and help them build a shrine for the statue; he declined and started home. His horse threw him as they crossed a bridge, and Diego was miraculously saved after he had prayed for Our Lady's intervention; he understood that this was a sign, went back to the Indians, and built an altar for the statue.
In 1604 the statue was moved to the local village of Quinche and a chapel was built for it. A new sanctuary was built in 1630 where the statue stayed until the church was destroyed in an earthquake in 1869. The church was re-built, and housed the image until moved to another new church in 1928; in 1985 the Vatican proclaimed the chapel to be a national sanctuary of Ecuador. Many miracles, especially healings, have been associated with the image, and there is a huge catalog of songs in several languages that have been written in devotion over the centuries.
Carved
1586 by Don Diego de Robles
Patronage
Ecuador
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