Festividad en honor de la Virgen de la Caridad, en el Cobre. Santiago. (1949) BREVE HISTORIA:
Alonso de Ojeda y los primeros conquistadores de Cuba pretendían imponerse a los indios. Estos los repulsaron y los españoles tuvieron que huir atravesando montes y ciénagas para salvar sus vidas. Así llegaron al poblado indio de Cueiba en la zona de Jobabo. Los indios al verlos en tan mal estado tuvieron compasión de ellos y les auxiliaron.
En agradecimiento Alonso Ojeda construyó una pequeña ermita con ramas de árboles, posiblemente la primera en suelo cubano. Allí colocó una Imagen de la virgen.. Cumplió así el voto que había hecho de entregar la Imagen si salía salvo de aquella situación..
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BREVE STORY:
Alonso de Ojeda and the first conquerors of Cuba intended to impose themselves on the Indians. These repulsed them and the Spanish had to flee through mountains and swamps to save their lives. This is how they arrived in the Indian town of Cueiba in the Jobabo area. The Indians upon seeing them in such a bad condition had compassion on them and helped them.
In gratitude Alonso Ojeda built a small hermitage with tree branches, possibly the first on Cuban soil. There he placed an image of the virgin.. He fulfilled the vote he had made to deliver the image if it came out except from that situation..
Without understanding religion very well, the Indians of that place revered the image and kept the hermit with great care when Ojeda left. This was what happened when the Father of the House arrived in the town of Cueiba.
In the th century, cattle breeding increased. It was necessary for the Spaniards on their way to the new territories. Copper exploitation began in the mountains of eastern region of the island in 1598 At 15 leagues from the mines the Spanish government established the hato of Varajagua or Barajagua that had a lot of cattle. That’s why the salt that prevented the corruption of the flesh was needed. Around the year 1612 or at the beginning of 1613, two Indian brothers went to search for salt in Nipe Bay and a black in nine or ten years. They were named respectively Juan de Hoyos, Rodrigo de Hoyos and Juan Moreno, known for tradition as ′′ the three Juanes «. As they went for salt, the appearance of the statue of the Virgin occurred. Here is the report of Juan Moreno, given in 1687, when he was eighty-five years old:
Having ranched in French cay that is in the middle of Nape Bay for good weather to go to the saline, being one morning the calm sea came out of said French cay before the sun rises, the sayings Juan and Rodrigo de Hoyos And this declarant, embarked on a canoe for the saline, and apart from that French cay saw a white thing on the water foam, which did not distinguish what could be, and closer seemed to them bird and dry branches. They said Indian ′′ looks like a girl «, and in these speeches, arrivals, recognized and saw the image of Our Lady the Blessed Virgin with a child Jesus in her arms on a small tablet, and in that tablet some big letters she read Rodrigo de Hoyos said, ′′ I am the Virgin of Charity «, and being her garments in clothes, they admired that they were not wet. And in this, full of joy, they took only three-thirds of salt and came to Barajagua Hato…»
The manager of the real term Copper Mines, Don Francisco Sanchez de Moya, ordered to lift a hermitage to place the image and established Rodrigo de Hoyos as a chaplain.
One night Rodrigo went to visit the Virgin and noticed she wasn’t there. A unsuccessful search was organized. The next morning, and to everyone’s surprise, the Virgin was back at her altar, without explanation, as the door to the hermitage had stayed closed all night.
The fact was repeated two or three more times until Barajagua thought the Virgin wanted to change places. This is how he moved in the procession, with great regret for them, to the Parish Temple of Copper. The Virgin was met with bell ringing and great joy in her new home, where she was placed on the high altar. So she came to be known as the Virgin of Copper Charity.
The disappearance of the Virgin was repeated in the Copper. They thought then she wanted to be over the mountains of the Sierra Maestra. This was confirmed when a girl named Apollonia climbed to the hill of the copper mines where her mother worked. The girl was chasing butterflies and collecting flowers when, above the top of one of the mountains, she saw the Virgin of Charity.
The news of little Apollonia caused major stir. Some believed, others didn’t, but the girl stood firm in her testimony. They took the Virgin there.
Since the appearance of the statue, the devotion to the Virgin of Charity spread with astonishing speed across the island despite difficult communications.
It was at Copper in 1801 that miners, encouraged by Father Alexandro Ascanio, obtain freedom from Real Cédula on April 7
Over the years, a larger compound was acquired to build a new sanctuary that could accommodate the growing number of pilgrims, with the move of the Virgin on September 8, 1927.
During the War of Independence, the troops were entrusted to the Virgin of Charity.
After the independence war, veterans asked the Pope to declare the Virgin of Charity of Copper, patron of Cuba. In a document signed on May 10, 1916 by the Cardinal Bishop of Hostia, His Holiness Benedict XV has agreed to the petition, declaring the Virgin of Charity of the Copper Chief Patron Copper of the Republic of Cuba and fixing its holiday September 8th.
In 1977, Pope Paul VI elevates Basilica’s dignity to the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Copper Charity.
During the months of preparation for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Cuba, ten pilgrimages of the Virgin of Charity traveled through the diocese of the country with great response from the people.
The Virgin of Charity was crowned by S.S. Juan Paul II as Queen and Patroness of Cuba on Saturday January 24, 1998, during the Holy Mass she celebrated during her apostolic visit to Santiago de Cuba :- ·