Esquipulas, officially Municipality of Esquipulas, whose original name was Yzquipulas, is a town, with a population of 18,667, and a municipality located in the department of Chiquimula, in eastern Guatemala. Esquipulas' main attraction is the beautiful Black Christ located in the Basilica of Esquipulas, making the town an important place of Catholic pilgrimage for Central America. It is also one of the most important towns of the country and one that has had the most economic and cultural growth.
Chiquimula is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala, in Central America. The departmental capital is also called Chiquimula. The department was established by decree in 1871, and forms a part of the southeastern region of Guatemala. Physically, it is mountainous, with a climate that varies between tropical and temperate, depending on the location.
Our Lady of the Pillar is the name given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of the traditional belief that Mary, while living in Jerusalem, supernaturally appeared to the Apostle James the Greater in AD 40 while he was preaching in what is now Spain. Those who adhere to this belief consider this appearance to be the only recorded instance of Mary exhibiting the mystical phenomenon of bilocation. Among Catholics, it is also considered the first Marian apparition, and unique because it happened while Mary was still living on Earth.
Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno, officially and liturgically known as Jesús Nazareno, and popularly known as the Black Nazarene, is a life-sized dark statue of Jesus Christ carrying the True Cross. The venerated image is enshrined in the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno in Quiapo, Manila, Philippines.
Otatitlán is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz, in the south of the state along the border with the state of Oaxaca. The town is best known for its large black image of a crucified Christ, one of three notable images of this type. Most of the population in Otatitlán is poor and the area is dedicated to agriculture, especially sugar cane and bananas.
Juayúa is a city and municipality in the Sonsonate department of El Salvador. It is a small town up in the mountains, founded in 1577. Juayua is located in the western part of El Salvador, about 50 miles from San Salvador.
El Santuario de Chimayó is a Roman Catholic church in Chimayo, New Mexico, United States. This shrine, a National Historic Landmark, is famous for the story of its founding and as a contemporary pilgrimage site. It receives almost 300,000 visitors per year and has been called "no doubt the most important Catholic pilgrimage center in the United States."
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Zacapa (y Santo Cristo de Esquipulas) is a Latin suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Guatemala.
The Virgin of Candelaria or Our Lady of Candle (Tagalog: Mahal na Birhen ng Candelaria, popularly called La Morenita, celebrates the Virgin Mary on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. The center of worship is located in the city of Candelaria in Tenerife. She is depicted as a Black Madonna. The "Royal Basilica Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Candelaria" is considered the main church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the Canary Islands and she is the patroness saint of the Canary Islands. Her feast is celebrated on February 2 and August 15, the patronal feast of the Canary Islands.
Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez is a researcher, writer, and professor of Central American history, particularly in the 19th century. He is the author of Piety, Power and Politics: Religion and National Formation in Guatemala, 1821-1871. He co-edited, with Charles Reagan Wilson, The South and the Caribbean.
The Basílica of the Black Virgin of Monserrat is a historic Catholic shrine built in the town of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a Black Madonna under the Marian title of “Virgin of Montserrat”.
The Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna or Catedral de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios is a Catholic church in Tenerife, Spain. Constructed between 1904 and 1915 to replace an earlier building begun in 1515 and designated a cathedral in 1818, it is dedicated to the Virgin of Los Remedios. The cathedral is the mother church of the diocese, which includes the islands of Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is therefore where the episcopal seat of the bishop of this diocese, which is currently vacant following the 2024 retirement of Bishop Bernardo Álvarez Afonso. This is one of the most important churches of the Canary Islands.
The Cristo de La Laguna is a wooden sculpture that represents the crucified Jesus of Nazareth. It is located in the Royal Sanctuary of the Christ, in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna.
Holy Week in Guatemala is celebrated with street expressions of faith, called processions, usually organized by a "hermandad". Each procession of Holy Week has processional floats and steps, which are often religious images of the Passion of Christ, or Marian images, although there are exceptions, like the allegorical steps of saints.
A national shrine is a Catholic church or other sacred place which has met certain requirements and is given this honor by the national episcopal conference to recognize the church's special cultural, historical, and religious significance.
The Cristos Negros or Black Christs of Central America and Mexico trace their origins to the veneration of an image of Christ on a cross located in the Guatemalan town of Esquipulas, near the Honduran and Salvadoran border. This image was sculpted in 1595 in wood and over time it blackened and gained a reputation for being miraculous. Little is known of how veneration of the image was spread by clergy, although there are records of its introduction in various locations, especially in Central America, southern Mexico, central Mexico and even as far north as New Mexico. However, a number of these images, such as the ones in Chalma, State of Mexico and Mérida, Yucatán have origin stories that do not connect the local image with that of Esquipulas. The Cristo Negro of Esquipulas remains an important symbol for Central America, with its sanctuary the most visited site in the region. On January 11, 2021, a replica of Christ of Esquipulas and his accompanying statues were donated to Saint Joseph Cathedral of Antigua Guatemala eliciting an uncontainable and renewed veneration for Black Christ of Esquipulas among his followers. There are hundreds of other such images with at least local importance with Christ of Chalma attracting millions of visitors, second only to that of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico. The popularity of the image continues to spread, with Central American and Mexican migrants bringing the image to the United States and Canada, founding new sanctuaries.
Cristo Negro is a wooden statue of Jesus Christ in Iglesia de San Felipe in Portobelo, Panama. The statue was found on the shores of the town's harbour. Life size, it is adorned with a robe that is changed twice a year, once during the Festival of the Black Christ and during Holy Week. Black Christ is venerated throughout the year, most particularly on October 21, during the Festival of the Black Christ.
The Cathedral of the Lord Also Villahermosa Cathedral or Tabasco Cathedral Is the main Catholic cathedral of the city of Villahermosa, in Mexico, and the central church of the Diocese of Tabasco.
The Basilica of Esquipulas or Cathedral Basilica of the Black Christ of Esquipulas is a Baroque church in the city of Esquipulas, Guatemala, named after the image of the Black Christ of Esquipulas which it houses. It is the largest Roman Catholic church in Central America and southern Mexico and the only one in America with four bell-towers. It has the status of cathedral, minor basilica and Catholic sanctuary.
