By Sr. Marcela Correa, SHM

The apparition of Our Lady of Las Lajas took place in Colombia around the year 1750. Las Lajas is located in southern Colombia, close to the Ecuadorian border. At that time, it was situated between two indigenous towns: Potosí and Ipiales, which were separated by the Guáitara River. María Mueses de Quiñones lived in Potosí, but all her relatives lived in Ipiales. For this reason she often traveled from one town to the other with her daughter, Rosa, who was deaf and mute.

On one of her walks, María sat down to rest next to a cave made of stone slabs (lajas). While she was seated, little Rosa climbed down from her mother’s back and suddenly began to speak for the first time, shouting, “Mom, there is a lady here with a child in her arms!” The mother did not see anyone and was frightened by what her daughter had said. She immediately took her daughter to Ipiales and went to Potosí by herself to tell her relatives what had happened, but no one believed her.

After this event, the little girl frequently said that the lady was calling her, but her mother paid no attention to her. One day, Rosa disappeared and María, filled with anguish, could not find her anywhere. Then she remembered Rosa’s insistence about hearing the lady’s voice. María concluded that her daughter had surely gone to the cave to see the lady again. When she reached the cave, María found the girl playing with a baby and a beautiful lady. She felt strongly that the lady was the Virgin Mary. María decided not to tell anyone about what had occurred, but rather to visit the cave with her daughter and pay homage to the place where Our Heavenly Mother had appeared.

One day, Rosa fell seriously ill, and soon afterward she died. María, shaken by the death of her daughter, decided to take the girl’s body and leave it in the place visited by Our Lady in Las Lajas. María’s only plea at that moment was for Our Lady to intercede for Rosa; she began to remember all the times the little girl had brought roses to that place. She then begged Our Lady with great faith to give Rosa life again. As a fruit of the mother’s faith, the Virgin Mary interceded before God on Rosa’s behalf, and the girl returned to life. María went home with her daughter and the news spread quickly, causing many to flock to Las Lajas.

As they all arrived at the cave, together with María and Rosa, they were surprised to find on one of the rocks an image of Our Lady of the Rosary with the Child Jesus, with St. Francis and St. Dominic on either side. The image had not been there before and it was not painted by human hands. Several scientists have examined the color of the image and have proved that it is not a painting, but pigment from the surface of the rock.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Las Lajas is known as one of the most beautiful shrines in the world, frequented by a great number of visitors. This shrine should help us remember the words Our Lady of Guadalupe says to us: “Am I not here, who am your Mother?"

©HM Magazine 224 January - February 2022