Description
El Cisne is one of Ecuador’s major pilgrimage and tourist sites. Every year on August 15th, the celebration in honor of Our Lady of El Cisne begin and carried by over 20,000 devotees, she begins a 3 day trek to Loja, where she is received with civic, military & religious ceremonies. This is a time of prayer and celebration with processions, Masses, fiestas and fireworks, On November 1st, the Virgin and her followers begin their return pilgrimage to El Cisne.
Our Blessed Mother is venerated under many different titles throughout the world. In all of her manifestations, she indicates that she is our Mother who loves and stands by us. You may wonder who is Our Lady of El Cisne?? Six years ago the Ecuadorian members of our parish arranged for Padre Herman to bring the image of Our Lady of El Cisne from Loja to our parish, she’s the image in the 4th Avenue shrine who has long curly hair and the wardrobe to die for. She is the patroness of the province of Loja, Ecuador and the patroness of all exiles.
In 1550 the Spanish arrived in Ecuador, and the Franciscan friars named a mountain parish “El Cisne” which means the Swan after the European mountain hermitages built and maintained by the Royal Order of the Knights of the Swan. — a group that ties into the Authorian legends. The Bishop of Loja — Luis Lopez de Solis wsa a member of the Royal Order of the Knights of the Swan in Spain.
The native Ecuadorians developed a devotion to the Blessed Mother and arrangements were made to carve a 6 ft Cedar statue in honor of the Virgin. This statue was placed in a small shrine and is still venerated almost 500 years later in the beautiful Cathedral of El Cisne.
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