The Virgin of Dolours

Some elders from Dolores say that many moons ago, some people found a Virgin of Dolores’s statue (figure 1) in the Plains of San Cristóbal next to the banks of the Sisicua River. Where they found it, the people called this town, Puebla Nueva of Titihuapa or La Puebla Nueva. They considered this statue, a miracle, and a message from God. That’s why they built a small temple to honor her presence.

Figure 1. The Virgin of Dolores. ¹

Years later, the priest of the town those days requested the inhabitants to move the statue from La Puebla because he said that the Virgin didn’t like where she was. This suggestion motivated the town to move the statue from the banks of the river to the place it occupies from 1781 to today, Our Lady of Sorrows Parish.

However, there is a second version and the most accepted one, especially by the Catholic Church.

Some people accidentally found a statue of the Virgin of Dolores. They discovered it not so far from the current location of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish. Some farmers discovered it when they were working there and decided to take it to Sensuntepeque to venerate it there. However, as soon as they started their journey, the Virgin became incredibly heavy, up to the point that it became impossible to carry her to Sensuntepeque.

The people decided to speak with the religious authorities about this situation. After their talk, they supported them to build a temple in the same place they found it.

In fact, it was the Virgin who taught them the exact place where she wanted to have her church, and by that divine request, they built two adobe walls and huge doors; therefore, everyone could attend.

Nowadays, the citizens hold pilgrimages in the municipality in honor of the Virgin of Dolores, a week before Easter (known as the Dolores Week). The city celebrates its patron saint festivities on September 15th in honor of the Virgin of Dolores, but for many years, they have celebrated on the 14th because of the independence of El Salvador.

Inspired by Leyendas de El Salvador’s version.

Credits:
Location: Dolores, El Salvador

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