OUR LADY OF THE CONCEPTION OF THE OLD
OUR LADY OF THE CONCEPTION OF THE OLD
Nicaraguan patron saint. Her feast is celebrated on December 8
Nicaragua celebrates with great devotion its patron saint “La Inmaculada Concepción”, also affectionately called “La Pursima”. Her feast is celebrated on December 8, and she is invoked with great love throughout the year.
The official patron saint is the one venerated in the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Conception of El Viejo. “El Viejo” is the name of the town near Chinandega and the famous San Cristóbal volcano. The Virgin who is venerated there has a distinguished and providential history that manifests the love of God and of the Virgin for the Nicaraguan people.
By God’s design, the venerated and miraculous image of the Immaculate Conception of Mary arrived in this town.
In the year 1562, due to a tropical depression, Don Lorenzo de Cepeda, who was traveling to Peru, had to stop at the humid Puerto de la Posesión, now called El Realejo. Among the things that Don Lorenzo brought with him, an image of the Virgen de la Concepción stands out. Don Lorenzo de Cepeda was a very pious man. He had a sister who was a Carmelite nun, who today is known worldwide as Saint Teresa of Vila, Doctor of the Church.
From El Realejo, Don Lorenzo de Cepeda was forced to travel to El Viejo, a nearby town, looking for better weather and as he was very devoted to the Virgin, he took her with him and deposited her in the Parish for safety and obvious comfort.
He sought assistance from the Franciscan Friars who lived in Chamulpa, today El Viejo. There they had their convent and medical assistance.
The inhabitants of El Viejo, Indians and mestizos, were attracted by the beauty of the image, and came to the Parish to admire the “Nia Blanca”. Soon it acquired prestige as a miraculous, but Don Lorenzo had to leave and despite his pleas, he packed his beautiful image and went to El Realejo to embark for Peru.
When the ship put to sea, another storm came and the sailboat had to return to the Nicaraguan port to avoid a shipwreck. Again Don Lorenzo went to El Viejo, carrying the sacred statue of the Virgin of the Conception. The entire town turned fervently to venerate the Virgin and mestizos, indigenous people and Spaniards interpreted “that the Virgin does not want to leave El Viejo, the Immaculate Conception wants to stay”.
The entire town exerted great pressure on Don Lorenzo and he, as a fervent son of María, yielded “to the wishes of the Virgin”, donated the image to the town of El Viejo and left for his original destination, Peru.
Devotion to the Immaculate Conception grew enormously and today it is venerated in a beautiful altar of wood and gold needles donated by its devotees for granted graces.
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