Our Lady of Monaco

Marian Advocation of Monguí (Boyacá)

La Basilica and convent of Our Lady of Monaco they rise up in the historic town of Monguí, in the department of Boyacá, on the place where there was a first Franciscan church of the 16th century that eventually remained in ruins. The construction of the present temple and convent began towards 1694 and lasted for several decades, until the mid-18th century, in the Spanish colonial era. The whole was erected by the Franciscan friars as the center of evangelization and organization of parish life in the region. Today it is part of Colombia's cultural heritage and has been the subject of important restoration works.

Main data

Origin and history

La Basilica and convent of Our Lady of Monaco they rise up in the historic town of Monguí, in the department of Boyacá, on the place where there was a first Franciscan church of the 16th century that eventually remained in ruins. The construction of the present temple and convent began towards 1694 and lasted for several decades, until the mid-18th century, in the Spanish colonial era. The whole was erected by the Franciscan friars as the center of evangelization and organization of parish life in the region. Today it is part of Colombia's cultural heritage and has been the subject of important restoration works.

According to the Pious traditionthe origin of the cult would be linked to a gift of the king Felipe II of Spain: it is said that the monarch would have sent two sacred images to the caciques of Sogamoso and Monguí, after the fruitful evangelization carried out by the Franciscans towards 1555. One image, of the Sagrada Familia, would have been destined to Sogamoso and another, from San Martín de Tours, to Monguí; however, for various changes and equivocals, the image of the Virgin with the Child and St. Joseph would have insisted "on staying" in Monguí, interpreting this as a sign of the will of God and of the Virgin to be patron of the people. This account belongs to the field of local tradition and legend; the sources consulted do not provide historical documentation confirming the direct shipment of the canvas or image by Philip II, so the exact origin of the piece should be considered historically no comprobado.

Today, the whole of the basilica and cloister is recognized as one of the most notable examples of colonial religious architecture in Boyacá and Colombia. The temple, together with the contiguous convent, structure the religious life of the municipality and continues to be the center of pilgrimage and Marian devotion under the title of Our Lady of Monaco.

The image and the sanctuary

Devotion focuses on a imagen mariana de época colonial venerated on the main altar of the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Monaco. The sources consulted do not describe in technical detail the piece (exact type of support, measures, authorship or technique); it is generally mentioned as the "image of the Virgin bearing the name of the municipality." A detailed iconographic description (child position, symbols, etc.) is not available in the verified sources, so these details no constan for sure.

The sanctuary is the Basilica and convent of Our Lady of Monaco, a temple of calicanto raised in a silery stone between 1694 y 1760. It has influences of Romanesque style in its composition, adapted to the Andean colonial architecture. The ensemble includes the main church, the Franciscan cloister and annexed dependencies, forming one of the most important colonial religious complexes in Boyacá. In 1966 the Pope Pablo VI raised the temple to the dignity of minor basilicarecognition that underlines the historical and devotional importance of the place. The building has been restored in the 21st century as a cultural heritage of Colombia, respecting its original stone structures and its conventional organization.

Sponsorship and coronation

Our Lady of Monaco is popularly venerated as “Reina de Boyacá” y Patron of the Diocese of Duitama- Sogamosoas they point out both the official page of the basilica on social networks and spiritual propagation materials. His patronage is particularly extended to the municipality of Monguí, which takes its religious and cultural identity from this Marian advocation.

No certain and documented reference to a canonical coronation made according to the liturgical norms of the Church (with date, decree and pontifical delegate clearly identifiable). Therefore, in the light of the available data, does not contain a documented canonical coronation for the image of Our Lady of Monaco.

Party and devotion

The revised sources do not explicitly provide the fecha litúrgica principal of the feast of Our Lady of Monaco (exact day and month), so this data no consta with safety in accessible documentation. However, it is known that the basilica is the center of the main religious celebrations of the municipality, and that around the patron parties are gathered faithful of Monguí, the diocese of Duitama- Sogamoso and other regions of Boyacá.

The temple is described as one of the most important of the colonial era in Boyacá and is one of the main religious and tourist attractions of the village, declared among the most beautiful in the department. The devotion is manifested in the participation in the Eucharist, in processions with the image of the Virgin and in pilgrimages that also take advantage of the architectural appeal of the basilica, the cloister and the famous colonial bridge of Calicanto of the municipality. The constant presence of visitors and pilgrims keeps alive a Marian religiosity of strong popular arraigo, where Our Lady of Monaco is invoked as mother and protector of families and the region.

Link to the Rosary

The specific sources on Our Lady of Monaco do not point to a practice or particular title which exclusively links this advocation to the prayer of Rosary (for example, historical co-fradies of the Rosary or explicit titles such as "of the Rosary" associated with the image); this explicit link no consta in the documents consulted.

However, in the Marian spirituality of the Church and in the usual pastoral practice of the sanctuaries, the Rosary It occupies a central place as contemplative prayer of the mysteries of Christ with Mary. In a Marian sanctuary of Franciscan root and strongly popular as Monguí, it is reasonable to consider - in the general pastoral and theological sense, rather than documentary - that the prayer of the Rosary accompanies the daily devotional life: in the visits to the Most Holy, in the ninth, in the processions and in the preparation of the Marian parties. In this way, the image of Our Lady of Monguí can be understood as a reference that encourages us to contemplate, with Mary, the mysteries of the life of Jesus that the Rosary proposes, strengthening the faith of the believing people and their Christian commitment in the diocese and in the entire Boyacan region.