Anecdotes about the Virgin Mary

The Mother shared by Catholics and Hindus

Siparia (Trinidad and Tobago)

In Siparia, in the south of Trinidad, there is a Catholic shrine dedicated to La Divina Pastora, that endearing figure of Mary as a shepherdess watching over her sheep. But this place has something unique and moving: it is one of the few shrines in the Caribbean that is permanently "shared." For Catholics, the image in the sanctuary is the Virgin Mary; for many local Hindus, she is a protective mother whom they call "Siparee Mai" or "Suparee Ke Mai," that is, "Mother of Siparia."

Every year, especially around Good Friday and during Eastertide, large crowds of people of different faiths come to the shrine. Catholics participate in the Mass and the procession, and pray before the image as they would before the Virgin Mary. Hindus, meanwhile, offer flowers, oil, candles, money, and vows, following Hindu ritual practices, but directed to the "Mai." The local press reports the scene year after year: Hindu families praying alongside Catholic families before the same image, each using their own religious language, within the same sacred space.

We must be very honest with the facts. The interreligious nature of the devotion is widely documented by anthropologists and by field studies of religion in Trinidad, and since at least the 20th century it has been a stable and well-known phenomenon. The presence of numerous votive offerings and plaques of gratitude, typical of any Marian pilgrimage site, is also documented, as is the welcoming pastoral stance of the local Church, which emphasizes the Marian identity of the image for Catholics while respecting the faithful of other religions.

However, the exact date the image arrived in Siparia is uncertain, as is its precise origin (Capuchin, Dominican, Sevillian, or Canarian: hypotheses vary, and to conflate them would be to fabricate), nor is there a single "official" account of its origin. Narratives about "miraculous" discoveries of the image on the mountain or about foundational miracles are local traditions whose historicity is unproven. The Rosary is part of ordinary Catholic Marian devotion during its feast days, but there is no evidence of a unique and foundational link to the Rosary specific to this particular devotion.