IL editors Dan Prescher and Suzan Haskins visit the Sanctuario de las Lajas near Ipiales, Colombia, where, in 1754, Maria Mueses and her deaf mute daughter, Rosa, were caught in a violent thunderstorm. While sheltering in a cave, Rosa saw a vision of the Virgin Mary and, although being deaf and mute, said to her mother, “Momma, the mestiza calls to me!”

The legend grew, and a sanctuary was built on the site through the efforts of a blind priest who, in the 1800s, walked throughout the countryside asking for donations. In the 1950s, contributions from locals helped pay for the construction of a new-Gothic church on the spot. The original cave and sanctuary are incorporated behind the alter of the existing church. It is now designated as a basilica.

The village of Las Lajas sits above the gorge of the Guaitra River and the church. It is a tidy little town that is undergoing lots of infrastructure improvements to accommodate the growing number of tourists and religious pilgrims who visit the site.

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