Our Lady of Coromoto of the Venezuelans in the United States, an invocation of the patron saint of Venezuela, venerated by the growing Venezuelan exile community

Marian devotion of Miami (Florida)

La advocación de Our Lady of Coromoto of Venezuelans in the United States (Miami, Florida) is born as an extension of devotion to Our Lady of Coromoto, Patroness of Venezuelawhose apparition is in 1652 in Guanare (Portuguese), the indigenous cacique Coromoto, and whose feast is held on 11 September. This Venezuelan national devotion is the historical and spiritual background of the presence of the Virgin of Coromoto among the Venezuelans of exile, especially in southern Florida.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of Coromoto of Venezuelans in the United States (Miami, Florida) is born as an extension of devotion to Our Lady of Coromoto, Patroness of Venezuelawhose apparition is in 1652 in Guanare (Portuguese), the indigenous cacique Coromoto, and whose feast is held on 11 September. This Venezuelan national devotion is the historical and spiritual background of the presence of the Virgin of Coromoto among the Venezuelans of exile, especially in southern Florida.

At present, a significant part of the Venezuelan diaspora is concentrated in Miami and other cities in Florida; in this context, parish communities and lay groups have been organizing mass, triduous and celebrations in honor of the patron saint of Venezuela, giving rise to a devotion recognizable as "Our Lady of Coromoto of Venezuelans in the United States." However, no consta that there is, to this day, a formal decree of the Church that sets up a specific national sanctuary for this advocation in Miami and no official title other than that of the Virgin of Coromoto, Patroness of Venezuela.

As for the distinction between tradition and documented history: – Tradición/leyenda: se mantiene la misma tradición de la aparición de la Virgen en Guanare al cacique Coromoto en 1652, con el don de una pequeña imagen que habría quedado milagrosamente en su mano. – Historia documentada: la proclamación de Nuestra Señora de Coromoto como Official Pattern of Venezuela by the Venezuelan Episcopate on May 1, 1942, and the subsequent confirmation of this patronage by Pius XII in 1944, are documented. This historical basis supports the extension of their veneration to the Venezuelan communities that have emigrated, including that of Miami, although the concrete form it takes in the United States is more responsive to devotional practice than to specific decrees.

The image and the sanctuary

In Venezuela, the original image of Our Lady of Coromoto is a small relic about 2.5 x 2 cm, venerated in the Minor National Sanctuary Basilica of Our Lady of Coromoto, in the traditional place of his second apparition. In the case of the advocation in Miami, they worship derived images of this original model (prints, pictures, package images), but no constawith verifiable data, a unique official description of "the" headline image of a sanctuary for the Venezuelan community in the United States.

Nor does it contain in diocesan or Holy See sources that there is in Miami a temple erected with the canonical title of "National Sanctuary" o minor basilica specific of Our Lady of Coromoto for Venezuelans in the United States. What is generally documented is that devotion is celebrated in Latin rite parishes that welcome the Venezuelan community, where images of the Virgin of Coromoto are placed and parties are organized in its honor, but without known legal status other than that of the parish or common church of the diocese. Consequently, there is no officially recognized sanctuary in Miami under this title, although there are chapels and images much loved by the faithful.

Sponsorship and coronation

On the universal level of the Church, Santa María de Coromoto in Guanare de los Cospes is Patrona of Venezuela, of Caracas, of the diocese of Guanare and, since 2011, Patrona principal of the archdiocese of Caracas, by decision of the Holy See. His party is held every 11 September. On the extension of this patronage to the Venezuelan community in exile, it can be said that, in fact, the Virgin of Coromoto is considered spiritually Mother and Patron of the Venezuelan people wherever they arebut no consta a specific decree formally declared by the Venezuelan community resident in the United States or Miami.

As for the canonical coronationthe original image of Our Lady of Coromoto was crowned solemnly in Venezuela on 11 September 1952, 300 years after the apparition, by Cardinal Manuel Arteaga Betancourt, an act approved by the Holy See. However, for the localized advocation "of Venezuelans in the United States, in Miami," does not contain a documented canonical coronation of an image of his own on American territory with pontifical recognition.

Party and devotion

La main party of Our Lady of Coromoto is the 11 Septemberthe date that tradition and the Church link to the memory of the apparition and that it is celebrated as the patron feast of the Venezuelan nation. This same date has been assumed by the Venezuelan community in exile, so that in Miami and other cities of Florida solemn, novena, triduous and cultural-religious acts (processions, Marian songs, flower offering) are celebrated around September 11, keeping the link with the country alive.

The available sources do not provide official influx figures or detailed lists of pilgrimages organized to a specific shrine in Miami. What can be seen, in the press and in ecclesial testimonies, is the growth of the Venezuelan presence in southern Florida and the spread of devotion to the Virgin of Coromoto en parroquias con fuerte presencia de inmigrantes. Esta devoción se caracteriza por: – Sentido de national identity and historical memory: la Virgen de Coromoto es signo de unidad del pueblo venezolano dentro y fuera del país. – Actos litúrgicos de rito católico latino: misas solemnes, rosarios, bendiciones de familias y niños, consagraciones a la Virgen. – Elementos populares: cantos, banderas venezolanas, uso de los colores nacionales, y plegarias por la paz y la reconciliación de Venezuela.

There is currently no stable structure of "national" pilgrimages in the United States to a single Coromoto shrine, but rather a network of local celebrations in different parishes where the diaspora is grouped.

Link to the Rosary

The historical sources on Our Lady of Coromoto focus on the apparition, patronage of Venezuela and the original image, without highlighting a specific fact that links this advocation to the prayer of the Rosaryas in Fatima or Lourdes. Therefore, no consta a particular historical link between the Virgin of Coromoto and a determined rosarian practice.

However, in pastoral and devotional practice, the Rosary occupies a central place in the lives of Venezuelan communities that venerate the Patroness. The recitation of the Rosary: – Accompanies the novenas and triduums leading up to September 11th, joining with Mass and Eucharistic adoration. – Becomes a prayer of intercession for Venezuela, for migrants and refugees, and for separated families. – Helps to contemplate, together with Mary, the mysteries of Christ, strengthening the faith of a people on the move and in exile.

In this way, although there is no concrete historical fact that links Our Lady of Coromoto to the Rosary, the spiritual experience of Venezuelans in Miami and elsewhere makes the Rosary a privileged road To live this advocation: by meditating on the mysteries of Christ's life with the Mother, the unity of the Venezuelan people is maintained and Christian hope is fed in the midst of the test.