The Mercedes de Paita, saved from the pirates
Paita · Piura · Perú · El milagro del mar
Paita, Pacific port
Paita is a port in northern Peru, in the region of Piura, with a long history of pirate attacks during the colonial period. The English and Dutch pirates raided the South Pacific coast in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, attacking ports, looting churches and taking hostages.
The image the pirates didn't take
Tradition tells that during one of the pirate attacks on Paita - the most famous occurred in 1587, when the English corsary Thomas Cavendish looted the city - the assailants tried to take the image of Our Lady of Mercy of the church. But the image was impossible to carry: those who tried to lift it were paralyzed or the image fell again.
The pirates finally ran away without the image. The inhabitants of Paita lived it as a miracle of the Virgin who protected her people and her image. History became the foundation of devotion to the Mercedes de Paita.
The patron of northern Peru
La Virgin of the Mercedes de Paita is the patron of the city and of the northern coast of Peru. His party (September 24, Merced Day) is the most important celebration in the city. The fishermen of Paita have special devotion to the Virgin: before going out to sea, they visit the sanctuary and entrust their networks and their lives to their protection.
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