Guantanamo.- Cubans today celebrate the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, Patroness of Cuba, a solemn title proclaimed by Pope Benedict XV in 1916 at the request of veterans of the War of Independence.
Pope Pius XI later authorized the canonical coronation of the sacred image, and on the morning of December 20, 1936, the ceremony was carried out by the then Bishop of Santiago de Cuba, Monsignor Valentín Zubizarreta.
During his visit to the island in 1998, Saint John Paul II crowned and blessed the image of the Patroness of Cuba in homage to the Cuban people, during the third Mass he celebrated there, which took place at Antonio Maceo Square in the city of Santiago de Cuba.
The pope urged the faithful “never to forget the great events related to Charity” and recalled the unique role that the Virgin Mary occupies in the mission of the Church, a figure to whom John Paul II himself was deeply devoted.
The feast day of the image is commemorated on September 8, coinciding with the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. She is also known as Our Lady of Charity of Cobre or simply Cachita.
According to historical accounts, the icon appeared in 1612 or early 1613 in Nipe Bay, the largest in Cuba, and was sighted by three men: a 10-year-old Black boy, Juan Moreno, and two brothers of pure Indigenous descent, Juan and Rodrigo de Hoyos. They worked as slaves in the copper mines of the region. The trio became enshrined in Cuban tradition as “the three Juans.”
The youths, who had gone in search of salt, saw the image of the Virgin holding the Child Jesus—the very same venerated by Cubans today—floating on a wooden plank. Inscribed upon it were the words: “I am the Virgin of Charity.”
Today, visitors to the sanctuary often return home with small stones glistening with copper from the mine. It is said that those who keep them enjoy special protection and a hopeful future for themselves and their families.
The National Basilica Sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre is one of Cuba’s most revered religious sites. Pilgrims from across the nation come to the Patroness of Cuba seeking spiritual comfort, answers to their deepest desires, and relief from the struggles of human life.
The chapel was inaugurated on September 8, 1927, and features a solid silver altar and other highly valuable ornamental objects.
Beneath the Virgin’s chamber lies the so-called Chapel of Miracles, where the faithful deposit offerings such as gold jewelry, precious stones, amulets, and other valuables. Around 500 people visit the site each day.
Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway donated his medal, awarded for literature in Stockholm, to the venerated Patroness of Cuba, describing the gesture as an acknowledgment of the Cuban people, who inspired his novel The Old Man and the Sea, the work for which he received the prestigious honor.
Oshun, an orisha of the Afro-Cuban Yoruba religion and venerated in Santería, is syncretized with the Virgin of Charity of Cobre.
This deity, brought from Africa, reigns over fresh waters, streams, springs, and rivers.
Thus, the feast of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre and the celebration of Oshun are observed in Cuba on September 8 in a single celebration, born of transculturation and the religious syncretism that emerged between Catholicism and Yoruba tradition within Cuban society.
