Our Lady of Charity National Shrine, 3609 South Miami Avenue, City of Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA / Architect: Jose Perez Benitoa / Completed: 1967 / Architectural Style: Miami Modern (MiMo)

The history of the La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, began around 1612. The image is thought to have been brought by Spaniard colonists from the town of Illescas, a province in Toledo, Spain where a similar posture of the Virgin Mary of Charity is already well-venerated. Local legend recalls the Spanish captains who bring with them religious Marian images to guide and protect them from English pirates at sea.

Two Native American or Indian brothers, Rodrigo and Juan de Hoyos, and an African slave child, Juan Moreno, set out to the Bay of Nipe for salt. They are traditionally given the moniker the "three Juans". They needed the salt for the preservation the meat at the Barajagua slaughter house, which supplied the workers and inhabitants of Santiago del Prado, now known as El Cobre. While out in the bay, a storm arose, rocking their tiny boat violently with ongoing waves. Juan, the slave, was wearing a medal with the image of the Virgin Mary. The three men began to pray for her protection. Suddenly, the skies cleared, and the storm was gone. In the distance, they saw a strange object floating in the water. They rowed towards it as the waves brought it towards them. At first, they mistook it for a bird but quickly saw that it was what seemed to be a statue of a girl. At last, they were able to determine that it was a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus on her left arm and holding a gold cross in her right hand. The statue was fastened to a board with an inscription saying, "Yo Soy la Virgen de la Caridad" or "I am the Virgin of Charity." Much to their surprise, the statue remained completely dry while afloat in the water.

Preserved in the General Archive of the Indies of Seville, a written testimony of Juan Moreno says:

Having camped in the French Key, which is in the middle of the Bay of Nipe, waiting for a good time to leave for the Wabba mines, being a morning of calm seas, they left the French Keys, before daybreak. The aforementioned Juan y Rodrigo de Hoyos and myself, embarked in a canoe, headed for the Wabba mines, and far from the French Key we saw something white above the foam of the water, which we couldn’t distinguish. As we got closer, birds and dry branches appeared. The aforementioned Indians said, 'It looks like a girl.' While they were discussing, they saw an image of Our Lady, the Holy Virgin, on top of a small wooden plank, holding the baby Jesus in her arms. On this small tablet, was written in large letters, which read, 'I am the Virgin of Charity.' Looking at her clothes, they realized that they were not wet.

Overjoyed by what they had discovered, they hurried back to Barajagua. They showed the statue to a government official, Don Francisco Sánchez de Moya, who then ordered a small chapel to be built in her honor. One night, Rodrigo went to visit they statue but discovered that the image was gone. He organized a search party but had no success in finding Our Lady of Charity. Then, the next morning, she was back on the altar, as if nothing had happened. This was inconceivable as the chapel had been locked. This event happened three times. The people of Barajagua came to the conclusion that she wanted to be in a different spot, so they took her to El Cobre. She was received with much joy in El Cobre, and the church there had its bells ring on her arrival. It was at this point that she became known as "Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre" or "Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre". Much to the dismay of people in El Cobre, the disappearance of the statue continued to happen.

One day, a young girl named Jabba was playing outside, pursuing butterflies and picking flowers. She went towards the mountains of the Sierra Maestra, where she came across the statue on top of a small hill. There were those who did and those who did not believe the little girl's testimony, but in the end, the Virgin was taken to the spot of her discovery, where a church was erected for her.

Before the famous image on 19 May 1801, a royal edict from king Charles IV of Spain decreed that Cuban slaves were to be freed from the El Cobre copper mines. The story circulated around the island quickly. Many felt that the Virgin purposely chose to have her sanctuary in El Cobre because it is located in Oriente Province. Later folk legends associated the taking of copper materials to their homes after having it blessed near the Virgin's sanctified image as a form of souvenir and miraculous healing.

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
www.worldarchitecturemap.org/buildings/our-lady-of-charit...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Charity

Taken in: United States / Florida / Bay Heights (show map)

Taken on: February 18, 2025

Tags:

Shrine Our Lady of Charity

3609 South Miami Avenue

Florida

USA

Jose Perez Benitoa

Completed: 1967

Miami Modern

MiMo

Catholic Church

religious building

Altar

La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre

historic landmark

Catholic shrine

South Florida

Magic City

305

religion

God

Jesus

Christian faith

worship

prayer

rosary

Rodrigo

Juan

Cuban culture

Jabba

miraculous healing

mountains of the Sierra Maestra

Juan Moreno

Rodrigo and Juan de Hoyos

Virgen Mary

faith

monochrome

monochromatic

blackandwhite

Our Lady of Charity National Shrine « less

Sets appears in: • Miami, Florida, USA, Metropolitain area II • Urban Florida VII more » • Florida's Religious Buildings, Structures and Icons « less

Groups appears in: • Florida • Architecture more » • South Florida • B&W • Religious Photos • Americana • Churches - Please read the rules before posting • Church Exteriors • Church Groups Directory • Religion • URBAN • anything and everything • Photos of MIAMI • Churches, Chapels, Domes, Mosques, Temples, Shrines and Monaster • Kirchen / CHURCHES • ANYTHING ALLOWED!!!!!! • Places of Worship • Your photo goes here! no 30/60 • Florida, USA • CHURCHES & HOUSES OF WORSHIP • Anything Goes No Limits • Religious Iconography • Architecture / 建築 • Catholic Churches • South Florida Photographers • *Inspirational Travel Photos • Anything at all • MY FLORIDA • historical churches • Churches of America • sacred places, holy spaces • Miami in Black & White • Historic Church Buildings • I bring my camera everywhere (no 30/60 limit) • Churche's of the World • South Florida Photography • Castles and Churches • Anything Digital [No AI or SL] • Holy Places • Churches from around the world (now curated) • Florida Locals • North American Churches • " Damn Cool Photographers in the WORLD " .♥.♥.♥ • Historic Florida • Places of worship around the World. • " MASTER CLASS PHOTOGRAPHY " • ALL Welcome - I am sick of 'rules and regulations - New Contest • The Florida Photographer • "Unlimited Photos: No Rules" (NO AI, CGI or SL images) • Photography in Florida • I am flickr! - No 30/60 Limit • Chapels, Churches & Cathedrals - Worlds Most Beautiful Churches • Churches in the USA • Cityscape and urban scenery • Great Buildings • "Black and White Unlimited" • " Your BEST of Today " - Through MY Eyes • Churches/Iglesias • Places of worship throughout the world • ! The BEST of Black & White Photography (NO SEPIA) • Architectural Beauty ! • ~Engineering is Art~ • religious symbols • Religious buildings • 100.000.000 Flickr Photos [No AI or SL] • Strictly GeoTagged (no 30/60 limit) • PLANET EARTH ARCHITECTURE & ENGINEERING • Churches of the World • Anything really... • Architektur und außergewöhnliche Dinge . Artes + Architecture • as beautiful as you want • Religion.. • Black and White Church • South Florida Foto Friends! • Geotagged: Florida • Geo-Tagging the Planet one Photo at a Time • Florida Travels • A Photographer [No AI or SL] • *****WORLDARCHITECTURE!***** • Florida in B&W • " BRIDGES "N" BUILDINGS, SUBWAYS"N"SIGNS ARE AMAZING " • Gebäude/Buildings • Urban Views • Holy Buildings • FloridaPast • Florida Photo Adventures • Florida - The Sunshine State • RELIGIOUS MONUMENTS • Religious Views • Church all over the world • My Florida Page • Churches ! • Church photographers • B&W Architectural Photography • A Personal Viewpoint • *Latidos de Ciudad * City Beats * • My time behind the lens No 30/60 limits • Churches past and present • Churches in the world • Architecture of church buildings • A FEAST FOR MY EYES (Public Group) • !*ALL ARE WELCOME*! • Florida Architecture • Castles, Churches, Palaces and Cathedrals • Black Sky Photography • Architecture Unlimited • Art of Exploration • ARTBWBTRA - ART IN BLACK AND WHITE - SELECTIVE COLOR - MONOTONE • ARCHITECTURE OF BEAUTIFUL TOWNS AND CITIES • -- PhotoMix -- • Group for all users of FLICKR - No 30/60 Groups Limit • Black and White Nirvana - No 30/60 Limit • * just photos * no rules please use comment code appreciated • FLORIDA'S CITYSCAPES & RURAL AREAS • The Sunshine State • CITY, URBAN & ENGINEERING IMAGES • Temples, Churches, Mosques and other religious Monuments • The Building: Architectural Photography • -- Photo passion -- • !*All Around The World*! • All great photos - No 30/60 • Florida's Religious Buildings, Structures & Symbols • ! Your Flickr Photos ! • Free our Flickr - No 30/60 • 100 Favorites (No 30/60 Limit) • !* THE NEW SOUTH ✧ Please, ONLY QUALITY IMAGES!✧ • The Monochrome Church • USA - United States (No 30/60 limit) • Holy Sites Around the World • FLICKR INTERNATIONAL - No 30/60 Groups Limit • Miami, Florida, USA • Beautiful Day or Night No 30/60 - No SL • ~Attention Worthy - No 30/60 Limit • ALL AMERICAS • No limit - No 30/60 • Buildings are beautiful - no 30/60 limit • Églises & chapelles du monde – Churches & chapels worldwide • TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY (no 30/60 rule) • Places of Worship in the United States • Architecture and Morality • Flickr (No 30/60 Group Limit) • No 30/60 Flickr - no SL • BEAUTIFUL CHURCH • Contemporary and futuristic architecture • Todos los momentos no 30/60 • NO 30/60 Family safe only • Holy Sites Architecture (no 30/60 limit) • Urban travellers • Mobile Photography Unlimited (no 30/60 limit) • Nice Places to Visit - No 30/60 Limit - Photos & Videos Welcome. • Post Anything You Like. No 30/60 • *** 1000% Architecture *** • The Map Group • A World of Churches, Mosques and Temples • All Your Photos and Mine (No 30/60 limit - Photos from anywhere) • A group for all type of photos but no porn (No 30 • ! ΙΙ TOURISM magazine ! • all photos of whatever no 30/60 • Where was this photographed? • Catholic Churches of North America « less

Stats: 3,223 views / 16 comments