Virgin of Chapi
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Blessed Virgin of Chapi
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| Type | Marian devotion |
| Approval | 2 February 1985 (canonical coronation granted by Pope John Paul II) |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Shrine | Sanctuary of Chapi, Polobaya District, Department of Arequipa, Peru |
| Patronage |
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| Attributes | Carved wooden head, bust, and hands on a jointed body, standing 1.30 m (4.3 ft) tall; dark chestnut ("trigueño") complexion and dark brown eyes; dressed in an elaborately embroidered tunic set with precious stones and gold thread, and covered with one of some 400 ornamental mantles kept in rotation, one of which bears the coat of arms of Arequipa; crowned with a gold crown and wearing a gold rosary donated by Pope John Paul II in 1985; in some depictions carries the crowned Christ Child on one hand and a small basket with two white dove chicks on the other |
| Feast day | 1 May |
The Blessed Virgin of Chapi (Spanish: Santísima Virgen de Chapi), formally Our Lady of the Candlemas of Chapi (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Chapi) and popularly called "Mamita de Chapi",[1] is a Catholic devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the patron saint of both the city and region of Arequipa, in southern Peru.[2] Her sanctuary stands in the Chapi Valley in Polobaya District, roughly 60 kilometres south of the city of Arequipa, and is one of the most visited Marian shrines in Peru.[3]
History
[edit]According to devotional and archival accounts, an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the invocation of the Virgin of Candelaria was venerated in the area of Chapi by the 17th or 18th centuries depending on the source,[4][5] with records of the valley appearing in the repartimiento of Pocsi District by 1655.[2]
Tradition holds that the image was originally kept near Churajón or in the settlement of Accahua before a catastrophic earthquake, associated with the 1600 eruption of Huaynaputina, destroyed the settlement and forced surviving residents to relocate, carrying the image with them.[2][4] Around 1743, a royal order requiring residents to abandon land needed for irrigation works prompted further relocation of the image into the Chapi valley.[2] Popular accounts from this period also describe a devotee locating a water source near the settlement after praying to the image, an event still cited in local retellings of the shrine's founding.[2]
In 1793, a parish priest reportedly ordered the image moved to the nearby town of Sogay. According to tradition, a sudden storm halted the procession before it could proceed, an event popularly interpreted as the Virgin's wish to remain at Chapi; this episode is commonly cited as the origin of the shrine's name, said to derive from Quechua phrases such as "Ch'aypi, Ch'aypi" ("There, in that place").[6][7][8]
An 1868 earthquake buried the original thatched-roof chapel, though the image itself was reportedly undamaged.[4] The sanctuary suffered further damage from a fire on 3 May 1921 and an earthquake eight days later.[2] In 1876, the Archdiocese of Arequipa formally established 1 May as the central feast day of the devotion.[7]
On 2 February 1985, Pope John Paul II visited the city of Arequipa to canonically crown the Virgin of Chapi.[9] The field where the coronation took place would eventually become the site of the Estadio Monumental Virgen de Chapi.[10]
The Archbishop of Arequipa, Fernando Vargas Ruiz de Somocurcio issued a decree declaring the shrine an Archdiocesan Sanctuary on 28 April 1986.[2]
The temple built during the 20th century was seriously damaged by the 2001 southern Peru earthquake on 23 June 2001 and subsequently demolished in early 2002; a reconstruction commission was formed by the Archdiocese in 2003.[2]
In 2012, the Peruvian Ministry of Culture designated "the Festivity of the Blessed Virgin of the Candelaria of Chapi, Arequipa" (la Festividad de la Santísima Virgen de la Candelaria de Chapi, Arequipa) as Cultural Heritage of the Nation.[11][12]
Sanctuary and pilgrimage
[edit]
The Sanctuary of Chapi sits at approximately 2,420 metres above sea level in a desert setting in Polobaya District.[3] Each year between 29 April and 2 May, the sanctuary draws an estimated 250,000 pilgrims, with many walking through the night to reach the shrine.[3] On the central feast day of 1 May, the statue is carried in a procession lasting about ninety minutes following Mass, and pilgrims traditionally leave ex-votos in gratitude for favours attributed to the Virgin.[7][3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "About 200,000 pilgrims visit "Virgen de Chapi" sanctuary in Arequipa". Andina. Agencia Peruana de Noticias (Peru News Agency). 2 May 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "La Virgen de Chapi: los misterios y milagros de la Patrona de Arequipa". Infobae (in Spanish). 22 September 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 "Virgen de Chapi in Arequipa". LimaEasy.
- 1 2 3 "Feast of the Virgin of Chapi in Arequipa". AnyDayGuide.
- ↑ "Virgin of Chapi: enjoy the largest religious festival in Arequipa". Tierra Viva Hoteles.
- ↑ Love 2017, p. 62.
- 1 2 3 "La Virgen de Chapi: historia, misterios y milagros de la Patrona de Arequipa". Perú Católico (in Spanish).
- ↑ Málaga Núñez-Zeballos, Alejandro (2011). La Virgen de Arequipa. Historia de la milagrosa Virgen de Chapi [The Virgin of Arequipa: History of the Miraculous Virgin of Chapi] (in Spanish). Arequipa: Universidad Católica de Santa María. p. 92.
- ↑ Pope John Paul II (13 February 1985). "Ex historia - Littera apostolica" [From history - Apostolic Letter]. The Holy See (in Latin).
- ↑ Lecarnaqué, Cristiaan (5 April 2009). "Una Historia Monumental" [A Monumental Story]. La República (in Spanish). pp. 4–5. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ↑ "Festividad de la Virgen de Chapi ya es patrimonio cultural" [Feast of the Virgin of Chapi is already cultural heritage]. Andina (in Spanish). Agencia Peruana de Noticias (Peru News Agency). 5 September 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ↑ "Resolución Viceministerial N.° 048-2012-VMPCIC-MC" [Vice-Ministerial Resolution 048-2012-VMPCIC-MC]. Ministry of Culture: Rules and Legal Documents (in Spanish). Government of Peru. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
Declarar Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación a la Festividad de la Santísima Virgen de la Candelaria de Chapi, Arequipa [To Declare the Festival of the Blessed Virgin of Candelaria of Chapi, Arequipa, as Cultural Heritage of the Nation]
Bibliography
[edit]- Love, Thomas F. (2017). The Independent Republic of Arequipa: making regional culture in the Andes (1st ed.). Austin (Texas): University of Texas Press. ISBN 9781477314616.
- Málaga Núñez-Zeballos, Alejandro (2011). La Virgen de Arequipa. Historia de la milagrosa Virgen de Chapi [The Virgin of Arequipa: History of the Miraculous Virgin of Chapi] (in Spanish). Arequipa: Universidad Católica de Santa María.
Further reading
[edit]- Málaga Núñez-Zeballos, Alejandro (2012). "La Virgen de Arequipa. Historia de la milagrosa Virgen de Chapi" [The Virgin of Arequipa: History of the Miraculous Virgin of Chapi]. Summa Humanitatis (in Spanish). 6 (1). Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.
- "La Virgen "pidió quedarse" en Chapi y hasta se escucharon voces diciendo "aquicito, nomás"" [The Virgin 'asked to stay' in Chapi, and voices could be heard saying, "Right here, just here."]. El Búho (in Spanish). 23 May 2024.