Our Lady of Cucutta

Marian title of Cúcuta (Norte de Santander)

La advocación de Our Lady of Cucutta is specially linked to the great Cucuta earthquake of May 18, 1875which destroyed much of the city and deeply marked the religious memory of its inhabitants. From this tragedy, the believing community was consolidating a particular trust in the protection of the Virgin Mary over the city, giving rise to this local advocation as a patrona de Cúcuta.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of Cucutta is specially linked to the great Cucuta earthquake of May 18, 1875which destroyed much of the city and deeply marked the religious memory of its inhabitants. From this tragedy, the believing community was consolidating a particular trust in the protection of the Virgin Mary over the city, giving rise to this local advocation as a patrona de Cúcuta.

En la popular traditionIt is called as the Mother who accompanied and held the Cuban people in the midst of the catastrophe, and it is often emphasized its amparo in the spiritual and material reconstruction of the city after the earthquake of 1875. However, no constan private apparitions or revelations recognized by the Church related to this advocation; the same diocese recalls that in Colombia the Marian apparitions with canonical recognition are only Chiquinquirá, Las Lajas and Torcoroma.

As for the documented historythe diocese of Cucuta presents Our Lady of Cucuta as patron of the particular Church and of the citybut the available publications do not detail precisely the exact moment at which this advocation was officially proclaimed as principal patron. This is a devotion that has been given greater prominence over time in the pastoral life of the diocese and in the religious identity of the city.

The image and the sanctuary

Information accessible from official and journalistic sources no describe with detalle el tipo de imagen (talla, lienzo, relieve) ni su material or specific iconographic features (attitude, attributes, symbols), so that: no consta a precise and documented iconographic description. In the recent diocesan communication it is represented under the title of Our Lady of Cúcuta, but without available technical data.

The image is venerated mainly in the Diócesis de Cúcutain the context of the departmental capital city of Norte de Santander. It does not include, in the public documentation consulted, the existence of a officially erected Marian sanctuary with the title "Sanctuary of Our Lady of Cucuta," nor that her main temple has been elevated to the category of minor basilica or designated as National sanctuary. Through diocesan communications, it is perceived that his veneration is especially integrated into the liturgical life of the diocese, especially in the city of Cúcuta, without an explicit declaration of his own Marian sanctuary.

Sponsorship and coronation

Our Lady of Cúcuta is presented and celebrated by the local Church as patron of the city of Cúcuta y de la Diócesis de Cúcuta. Devotion has a strong urban and diocesan character: it is an advocation closely linked to local history and the Catholic identity of the North Santander region. It is not known that it has a national patronage.

On the coronationthe Diocese of Cucuta has spread that the image of Our Lady of Cucuta was crowned on 18 May 1950, coinciding with the 75 years of the 1875 earthquake. The published review mentions the fact of coronation and the commemorative date, but the accessible sources no especifican en forma clara si se trata del una canonical coronation granted by the Holy See or of a solemn coronation of a diocesan character, do not mention the name of a pontifical delegate or a papal document. In the absence of such precision and of a clearly available pontifical decree, it should be strictly stated: does not contain a documented canonical coronation in the usual legal terms (indication of bull, short or rewritten and delegate of the Pontiff).

Party and devotion

La main party of Our Lady of Cucutta is celebrated the 7 Septemberas a memory of the patron of the city, according to the diocesan calendar and local disclosure. The date of 18 May, anniversary of the 1875 earthquake and the 1950 coronation, also has a significant commemorative value for devotion, by linking the history of the city's pain with confidence in the intercession of the Virgin.

La devotion is especially expressed in the participation of the faithful of the diocese in the liturgical celebrations and in acts of consecration of the city to the Virgin, as reflected in the official communications where it is called to "entrust life and the city" to her maternal intercession. Although no specific influx figures are available, diocesan publications show a large participation of the people in local Marian celebrations, indicating a significant devotional arraigo. The solemn Eucharistic, urban processions, days of prayer for the peace of the border and for the Cuban families are part of this popular piety.

Link to the Rosary

The sources consulted do not indicate a specific relationship of this advocation with the prayer of the Rosary (for example, it is not officially presented under the title "Our Lady of the Rosary of Cúcuta," nor is there a direct link with apparitions or messages about the Rosary). From the documentary point of view, therefore, it must be stated with sobriety: does not contain a particular and own link between the advocation of Our Lady of Cucuta and a practice of the Rosary different from common Marian devotion.

However, in the Catholic tradition, every advocation of Mary is naturally integrated into the spirituality of the Rosarywho contemplates the mysteries of Christ's life from the hand of his Mother. In the case of Our Lady of Cucutta, the Rosary can be lived as:

– School of trust and comfort: los misterios dolorosos y gloriosos ayudan a releer, a la luz de la fe, el sufrimiento colectivo del terremoto de 1875 y la esperanza en la reconstrucción, tanto material como espiritual. – Prayer for the city and the diocese: el rezo comunitario del Rosario, pidiendo la intercesión de la patrona, se convierte en súplica perseverante por la paz en la región de frontera, por los migrantes, las familias y los más pobres. – Road of union with the Church: by praying the Rosary with the local patron, the people of Cúcuta join the great Marian current of the universal Church, in communion with all recognized Marian advocacy.