Our Lady of Candelaria of Ráquira

Marian devotion of Ráquira (Boyacá)

La devoción a Our Lady of the Candelaria in Ráquira (Boyacá) is closely linked to Monastery / Convent of Our Lady of the Candelaria, considered first convent of the Agustiniana Collection in America. This monastery was founded at August 12, 1604 by the father Fray Mateo Delgadoand the initial construction was carried out between 1604 y 1611. From its origins, the religious house had a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Candelaria, which indicates a Marian devotion established from the beginning of the recollected presence in the area.

Main data

Origin and history

La devoción a Our Lady of the Candelaria in Ráquira (Boyacá) is closely linked to Monastery / Convent of Our Lady of the Candelaria, considered first convent of the Agustiniana Collection in America. This monastery was founded at August 12, 1604 by the father Fray Mateo Delgadoand the initial construction was carried out between 1604 y 1611. From its origins, the religious house had a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Candelaria, which indicates a Marian devotion established from the beginning of the recollected presence in the area.

Historically, the monastery rose in the call Desert of the Candelaria, a semi-desert territory located a few kilometres from the urban centre of Ráquira, in the west of Boyacá. This context of "desert" evokes the erectic ideal, and devotion to the Virgin of the Candelaria became a protection and sign of God's presence in the midst of a rough, spiritually fruitful environment. The tradition of Ráquira, the potter people, has over time incorporated elements of local culture into this advocation, shaping a Marian identity deeply rooted in Boyacense popular religiosity.

As for oral traditions or specific legends about a prodigious finding of the image or an apparition in Ráquira (in the style of other Marian shrines), do not contain precise and documented foundational accounts in the sources consulted; the firm data focus on the foundation of the convent in 1604under the patronage of the Virgin of the Candelaria and in the subsequent historical development of the Order of Agustinos Recoletos in Colombia. When in the popular context "very ancient" origins of devotion are remembered, it is rather a devout memory linked to the antiquity of the convent and the aquastino-recoleta presencenot a concrete miraculous account with date and document.

The image and the sanctuary

The available sources indicate that the monastery has a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Candelariaintegrated in the whole of the convent, which also houses a museum of antiquities and a gallery of religious art. The place is officially known as "Monastery (or Convent) of Our Lady of the Candelaria", belonging to the Order of Agustinos Recoletos. Its architecture is described as netamente colonial, con two internal yards, called "the founder's" and "the restorators'," which reflects a classic monastic structure around cloisters. It is not known that the temple has received the title of minor basilica nor that it has been erected as National sanctuary; in the sources consulted it is presented as monastery and religious-tourist attraction of historical and spiritual importance for the region.

On the image of Our Lady of the Candelaria venerated in the monastery, the sources describe the presence of Marian religious art but do not offer a detailed iconographic data sheet (type of size, author, dating, specific materials). In the context of the Candelaria and the Spanish-American iconographic tradition, it is often a image of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus and the Cirius or Candelas, symbol of Christ the light of the world; however, for the concrete image of Ráquira do not contain accurate and documented data about its author, exact period or restorations, beyond its insertion in the recollected Augustinian tradition. Therefore, it can be said that the image is Marian, under the title of the Candelaria, venerated in the chapel of the monasterybut fine technical and iconographic details remain No official description published in the sources consulted.

Sponsorship and coronation

At the local level, several sources highlight that the Virgin of Candelaria is considered Mother and Patron in this region of Boyacá, especially linked to the municipality of Rakira and the surroundings of the Desert of the Candelaria. The devotion is projected on both the recollected religious community and the population of the municipality, which recognizes in the Candelaria a particular protection over the potter people and their traditions.

As for the canonical coronationin the sources consulted (institutional information of the municipality, documents on the history of the province of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de los Agustinos Recoletos, tourist and academic reviews on the Desert and the Monastery) does not contain a documented canonical coronation for the image of Our Lady of the Candelaria venerated in Ráquira. Nor is reference to a diocesan coronation or to a specific pontifical decree for this advocation in this place.

Party and devotion

La liturgical feast of the Presentation of the Lord and of the Virgin of the Candelaria is celebrated throughout the Church the 2 February, and this date is also recognized in Ráquira and the Monastery of the Candelaria as the main day of the advocation. On that day, according to the tradition of the Candelaria in the Hispanic field, the candelas are blessed and Christ is remembered as "light to light the nations" (cf. Lk 2: 32); although the sources on Ráquira do not describe the liturgical program in detail, it is reasonable to say that the Solemnity of February 2 constitutes the annual center of devotion to the Virgin of the Candelaria in this sanctuary.

The monastery and the surroundings of the Desert of the Candelaria are presented as a religious pilgrimage and spiritual tourismvisited by faithful and visitors who seek to take up, contemplate and contact with colonial heritage and religious life. Various testimonies describe the place as a "historic monument for the nation" and highlight the influx of people who come to know the convent, its chapel, the gardens and the grotto that evokes the abode of the ancient hermits. The pilgrimages are integrated with the rich artisan culture of Ráquira, so that Marian devotion will live with the identity of the potter people and their popular expressions; however, no official flow figures or detailed descriptions of specific processions in the sources consulted.

Link to the Rosary

The specific sources on the Monastery of Our Lady of the Candelaria of Ráquira do not explicitly mention a unique or specific practice of the Rosary prayer linked to this advocation (for example, co-fradies of the Rosary formally erected in the monastery or a particular Rosary feast). Therefore, from a strictly documentary point of view, does not contain a distinctive historical link of the Rosary that distinguishes this sanctuary from other Marian places.

However, in the Marian spirituality of the Church and in the tradition of religious orders, the Rosary It is a prayer that usually accompanies the lives of the faithful and the communities. In a Marian sanctuary like that of the Candelaria of Ráquira, it is reasonable to consider that the Rosary constitutes a Ordinary way of meditating on the mysteries of Christ's life with Maryespecially around the feast of the Candelaria, which contemplates Jesus presented in the temple as the light of the nations. In this way, even if there is no "own" rosarian practice documented, the Rosary presents itself as a simple and constant way to join the Virgin of the Cande