Day of Our Lady of Health of Pátzcuaro

December 8 is a date of great importance for the Patzcuarense community. It is celebrated Our Lady of Health of Patzcuaro, also known as Our Lady of Health or Virgin of Health, a miraculous image that thousands of people come to adore and venerate throughout the year, but particularly on this holiday.

In 1536, Don Vasco de Quiroga, First Bishop of Michoacán, commissioned the indigenous people of the region to create this image, which was made from sugarcane paste, a pre-Hispanic technique used by the Purépechas to make their idols, in which the dried pith of corn stalks is used, ground and mixed with a paste obtained from the bulb of orchids and which is still used. From this same paste and in Pátzcuaro, among many other images, those of Our Lady of Zapopan and Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos were also made.

Initially, the image of the Virgin of Health was placed in the chapel of the Hospital of Pátzcuaro and was called “Health of the Sick”, but due to her great number of graces and cures for the sick, she began to be called “Our Lady of Health”, the name by which she is known to this day.

Over time, the large number of people and pilgrimages that began to come to request favors made the space of the Chapel of the Hospital of Pátzcuaro insufficient, so in 1691 the construction of the Tabernacle began, a larger temple to be able to accommodate the faithful who visited the Virgin.

In 1737, the Virgin of Health was chosen and proclaimed as Patroness of Pátzcuaro. Ten years later, in 1747, the Dominican Convent was founded, a religious group whose mission is to care for the image.

In 1880, the Virgin was transferred to the Tabernacle, where she was crowned with papal authority in 1899. She remained there for 191 years, until she was moved to where she is currently located: Basilica of Our Lady of Health.

The construction of the current Basilica dates back to the times of Don Vasco de Quiroga in 1543, who dreamed of a great cathedral with five naves. Due to various circumstances, this project was never completed and only the central nave was built. It served as a Cathedral until 1580, the year in which the diocese was transferred to the city of Valladolid, today Morelia. During the following years it was called a Parish and it was not until 1924 that it was elevated to the rank of Basilica.

Currently, thousands of believers from different places visit Pátzcuaro throughout the year to ask favors from the Virgin, who is considered very miraculous by all her followers.

According to newspaper reports, on December 22, 1962, an individual fired ten shots with a long-range rifle at a short distance from the Virgin; three of the bullets were aimed at the face and the remaining seven at the body. However, the image was not damaged, as several bullets inexplicably went off course and others lost all their force and fell crushed right in front of the pedestal of the image. To make matters worse, the enormous glass that closes the shrine with the bullet holes remained intact for some time until a strong earthquake shattered it. The large pieces could have fallen on the image, but they fell between the altar and the image without harming either the Virgin or the faithful who passed in front of the shrine. As evidence of such strange events, the rifle and some pieces of glass with the marks of the bullet impacts are preserved in the sacristy of the Basilica.

It is worth mentioning that the remains of Don Vasco de Quiroga, the beloved "Tata Vasco" of the indigenous people, are deposited in a mausoleum within this Basilica.