Anecdotes about the Virgin Mary

"The little donkey that lay down in front of the church: the Peace of San Miguel"

San Miguel (El Salvador) (1682)

In the city of San Miguel, in eastern El Salvador, Our Lady of Peace is venerated, the main patron saint of the entire Republic since Paul VI declared it so in 1966. Her arrival is wrapped in one of the most endearing stories of Salvadoran piety.

Tradition tells that in 1682, some merchants saw a well-sealed wooden box floating in the Pacific Ocean near the Gulf of Fonseca. They retrieved it, but despite their best efforts, they couldn't open it on the beach. They borrowed a donkey to take it to San Miguel, and as they passed the old parish church on November 21st, the animal stopped and lay down, refusing to go any further. There, they decided to open the box: inside appeared a beautiful image of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus in her arms. Some versions add that, upon learning of the discovery, the inhabitants of the region, who were engaged in a conflict, laid down their arms; hence the title Our Lady of Peace.

Let us distinguish between documented facts and pious beliefs. The discovery of an image in a chest washed ashore, its transport by donkey, and its unveiling in front of the parish church, along with the feast day of November 21st, form the historical core accepted by the diocese. In contrast, the reason that "they could not move it until they understood that it was her will to stay" is a devotional expression, common in the Americas to indicate the Virgin's choice of the place, and is not found in primary historical documents. Also documented are the pontifical coronation of 1921 and the national patronage of 1966.

Much loved is the "miracle of the lava": on September 21, 1787, when the Chaparrastique volcano erupted, the residents brought the image out in front of the church, and tradition holds that the lava flow changed direction, stopping where the "Milagro de la Paz" neighborhood now stands. The natural event—the eruption and the city's salvation—is historical; the miraculous aspect belongs to the tradition of San Miguel. As for the Rosary, there is no record of a specific founding link with this devotion, although its recitation is a common practice in novenas and pilgrimages, according to the general custom of Latin American piety.