Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza del Valle de Media Luna
De, Gracia T. Marcelino B., and Clementina A. de De. Gracia. Testigos y Testimonios Marianos: Santuario Nuestra Senora De La Esperanza Del Valle De La Media Luna. Sibauste, 2007.
Country
Panama
Description
Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza del Valle de Media Luna is one of the more modern devotions to Our Lady. It began in December of 1986, when a young man named Rolando Muñoz said the received a message from the lips of the Blessed Mother herself. Most people thought him mad, but over time people joined him when the Virgin would appear to him on schedule in the Valle de Media Luna in Portobelo. It is said that she appears to four times a year: the first Saturdays of April, July, October and on December 12. Local Church authorities have designated it a place for pilgrimage and a national shrine. Thousands of people gather to pray, confess their sins and receive the Eucharist, as well as to witness the miracle of “the dancing sun.”
On the occasion of these apparitions, the Blessed Mother who speak to Muñoz. Once she directed him to dig in a spot she indicated, which turned out to be an underground spring. Another time she pointed to a strange structure made of three volcanic rocks arranged in a triangle formation. On yet another occasion she showed him where to look to find an image of the Sacred Heart stamped into the leaves of a tree. Muñoz did not live long, however, dying three years after having seen the Virgin for the first time. Devotees still flock by the thousands to the site, however, and the locals consider Our Lady del Valle de Media Luna their particular patroness.
References:
Álvarez E., Blanca. “Virgen de la Media Luna se manifiesta a sus creyentes.” Crítica en línea. April 9, 1999.
De Gracia T., Marcelino B. and Clementina A. de De. Gracia. Testigos y Testimonios Marianos: Santuario Nuestra Señora de La Esperanza Del Valle de La Media Luna. Ciudad de Panamá: Sibauste, 2007.
Researched by Lillian L. Weber
Popular Devotions
“The Dance of the Sun” in which people observe many manifestations in heaven. It first occurred on December 12th, 1986. People gather and place flowers and candles around her image.
Hail Mary
Dios te salve, María. Llena eres de gracia: El Señor es contigo.
Bendita tú eres entre todas las mujeres.
Y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre: Jesús.
Santa María, Madre de Dios, ruega por nosotros pecadores,
ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte.
Amen.
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