Rosario de Yauca: The Virgin Iqueña

There are many people who feel great passion for Rosario de Yauca: La Virgen Iqueña. She is a Virgin that for many believers, they feel close in their worst and best moments, they feel that Rosario de Yauca, never leaves them and transmits strength to them whenever they need it. She is a famous Virgin in Peru, exactly in the town of Ica.

Veneration of the patron saint of Ica

The first weekend of October is a date of integrity and unification for the people of Ica in Peru, as a holiness of great importance such as the Virgin of the Rosary of Yauca is celebrated, whose sanctuary is located on the outskirts of the city and where it is customary to go on pilgrimage. This pilgrimage is long since it lasts about 6 hours, but the devotees do it with great pleasure and happiness.

On the first Saturday of October, Ica is paralyzed to pay veneration to its patron. On this important day the streets are filled with people, with buses with people who come to the town to venerate the patron saint and without distinction all go to the Yauca sanctuary.

Accessing the sanctuary is not an easy task

The sanctuary is located in the bowels of a hot stony, sandy and irregular desert. It is difficult to cross, even the best prepared vehicles have difficulty accessing it. However, the challenge and commitment of the believer is to cross the city, its surroundings and the aforementioned desert on foot.

Extensive lines in one direction form the bodies of the devotees who walk mostly in groups, towards the sacred precinct. Without a doubt all that devotion and desire to arrive, the same feeling that unites people for a Virgin is undoubtedly something exciting. For them it fills their hearts and they feel satisfied despite difficulties.

The buses are packed with people who want to venerate the patron. These buses look like caravans and take alternate paths to that of the pilgrims, who empty the city, leaving it desolate, transmitting their life to the arid desert that awaits its Virgin.

A unique experience for your devotees

An attractive experience is to live as an entire city goes out of its way for a religious event, which breaks away from its routine to heed a divine call, customs that large cities omit to continue with their chaotic daily life. Ica is more attractive than ever on that date, when it empties its streets to go to a religious monument far from its limits, Away from the cement and noise that disturbs souls, close to nature, where there is more life than you think. People come together for a single purpose, to venerate the Virgin Iqueña, who accompanies them throughout the year in their hearts.

The pilgrimage path to the sanctuary is sacrificed but if you want to enjoy the fullness of the department of Ica then that is the best moment, because your path is also understood as a tourist tour, as it runs through the center of the city; the immediate outskirts that are the haciendas; the rustic district Los Aquijes; the desert that is under a beautiful star-filled sky; and the Yauca del Rosario district, whose name is due to the virgin of the festival and the place where her temple is located. Much of the province of Ica is known for this journey of faith, where in addition to distracting the view, you can learn about the religious sentiment of a community that is not alien to the customs of yesteryear. In October the best face of Ica is due to its religiosity.

Rosario de Yauca: The Virgin Iqueña

It was at the beginning of the XNUMXth century when, in the middle of the Yauca desert, the Virgin was found among bushes by three people who inhabited the town, and were able to contemplate for the first time what they also call now: "Our Lady of the Rosary" and she had the baby Jesus in her arms and a rosary marking her hands. The image is approximately 60cms high and was abandoned by people who got lost in the Ica desert.

According to the testimonies, this happened on the first Saturday in October, exactly on October 3, 1701. And that is why it was from that date that is celebrated on the first Saturday in October of each year and all its devotees travel through the desert to pay homage to that wonderful day, where the Virgin could be found and for many, rescued from the desolate desert .

The people who found the Virgin were not forgotten, and they remain today great people to remember for all the locals. The names of these people were: Nicolás Ortega, Diego Gutiérrez and Francisco Córdova. Thanks to these three men, the Virgin Iqueña was rescued and today she can be venerated by all her devotees.

When they found her they thought of transferring her to Ica but when they tried to transport her they couldn't do it, but this seems to have been no coincidence. The people who tried to lift her and did not succeed, interpreted this as that the Virgin did not want to be transported and wanted to stay with them to protect them from the moment she was found as a great act of love towards them. It was the wish of the Mother of God to remain in that desert and that is why they built a chapel for her thanks to Calitxo Muñoz. After a prayer, the Virgin was led to a new home, to her current sanctuary. The news spread through the towns and since then the Virgin of Yacua is venerated by all the inhabitants who made her their patron saint forever.

If you ever travel to this town in Peru, do not hesitate to do so to be present on the first Saturday in October because that way, you can enjoy so much devotion to the Virgin. You will be able to feel the love of their countrymen for them and how an entire town unites their emotions to venerate her, leaving the town empty of inhabitants as everyone is on their way to the sanctuary to honor her.