Apparition
Apparition of Our Lady of Coromoto
Private revelation · Guanare, Portuguesa, Venezuela, 1652
According to the tradition of Guanare, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in 1651 and again on 8 September 1652 to the chief of the Cospes people, urging him to receive baptism; when he resisted and reached out to seize her, she vanished, leaving in his hand a small image which is venerated to this day in the basilica of Our Lady of Coromoto.
Background
The Holy See has confirmed the devotion in the strongest terms available for a cult: Pope Pius XII declared Our Lady of Coromoto Patroness of Venezuela in 1944, raised her sanctuary to a basilica in 1949 and ordered the canonical coronation of the image on the third centenary of the apparition. Pope Saint John Paul II visited and crowned the new national sanctuary in 1996. As with the other colonial apparitions of the Americas, no decree has ever ruled juridically on the events themselves; it is the veneration that the Church has approved.
Location
Guanare, Portuguesa
Country
Venezuela
Approved status
Private revelation
Year of apparition
1652
Visionaries
the chief of the Cospes people, baptised Juan Coromoto
Subject
marian
Feast day
September 11
Decision year
1944
Content subtype
unapproved_apparition
Decision authority
Pope Pius XII, who declared Our Lady of Coromoto Patroness of the Republic of Venezuela