Virgin of the Valley
Every September 8th, her day is celebrated, the date on which thousands of pilgrims visit her in her sanctuary located in the Margarita Valley, near Porlamar.
Our Lady of the Valley is an advocacion of the Virgin Mary.
It is venerated in several states of the country, especially in the state of Nueva Esparta. It is the patron saint of the island of Margarita and of the Venezuelan east.
The image arrived to the island of Nueva Cádiz, by the Spaniards, but after the island was whipped by a hurricane in the year 1542, (hurricane of which the image of the virgin survived without any mishap) the image was moved to the Island of Margarita to the Valley of Espiritu Santo.
On September 8, 1911, the canonical crowning of the image took place, with the authorization of Pope Pius X.
The faith that embraces this venerated image, is surrounded by many stories of love, devotion and gratitude, so much so that there are some miracles by intercession of the Virgin among them are, the powerful prayer that performed the wife of a fisherman, who in a working day had a terrible encounter with a manta ray, which pecked his leg, which by the terrible infection and had to be amputated to save the life of man, but miraculously his healthy leg. The fisherman in gratitude promised the Vigen that he would return to the sea and that the first pearl that he found would be for the image, for the catch of the fisherman, when he entered the sea and found an immense oyster, when he opened it he saw that the pearl had the shape of a leg, and one could even see the rattle of a scar in it.
The pearl in the shape of a leg can be admired in the mueo diosesano of El Valle del Espiritu Santo.
In 1608, Margarita experienced a strong drought, people decided to take the image of the Virgin of the Valley in procession, and upon arriving in the city of Asuncion, it began to rain.
It is believed that if you ask her with faith and love in your heart, the Virgin can grant many blessings to our lives!
If you want to know more about this beautiful image visit this site