Donald Calloway, MIC In , an event took place in Colombia that continues to baffle geologists and other scientists. Have you heard of it? Most Catholics outside of Colombia are completely unaware of its existence. To be honest, I had never heard of it either until a few years ago. I came across the story of this incredible image while doing research for my book Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon.
All my friends know that I absolutely love leading pilgrimages. But after I learned about the miraculous image of Our Lady of Las Lajas, making a pilgrimage to Colombia is now on my bucket-list. It might become a bucket-list destination for you, too.
When a storm broke out, Maria and her daughter took shelter in the rocky cliffs of a canyon. All of a sudden, little Rosa spoke for the first time, declaring that she saw a beautiful woman who was calling her. Maria did not see or hear the woman, but was amazed that her daughter could now speak. A few days later, Rosa disappeared from the village. Her mother instinctively knew to return to the rocky canyon where she would find her little girl.
Incredibly, when Maria went to the rocks, she found Rosa playing with a little child whose mother stood nearby. It was an apparition of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus! Maria and her daughter decided to keep this event secret, but would frequently return to the rocks to pray and ask Our Lady for her intercession. Distraught, Maria took her deceased daughter to the rocks to ask Our Lady to intercede with her divine Son to bring Rosa back to life.
Miraculously, Rosa came back to life! When Maria returned to the village and the people saw that Rosa was alive, their interest was piqued about this place where little Rosa had miraculously recovered her speech and even come back from death. The villagers followed Maria and Rosa to the rocks to see the place themselves. While they were there, someone noticed a beautiful image of Our Lady on the rocks.
