Santuario de la Virgen de Lo Vásquez, Catholic pilgrimage shrine in Casablanca, Chile
Santuario de la Virgen de Lo Vásquez is a Catholic pilgrimage church located in Casablanca, south of Valparaíso in Chile. The complex features a chapel housing a wooden Virgin Mary statue, surrounded by areas where pilgrims gather for regular masses and confession services.
In 1849 the first baptisms were recorded in a chapel formed from an adobe barn on José Ulloa's property. In 1850 Friar José Manuel Troncoso moved the Virgin's image to a barn 100 m north, and the Leiva Vásquez family donated land for a new chapel. An 1851 tremor destroyed the walls, but the chapel was inaugurated in 1854; the 1906 earthquake ruined it, and the current temple was inaugurated in 1913.
Every 8 December the feast of the Immaculate Conception draws thousands of pilgrims from Santiago and the Valparaíso Region, who arrive over two days, 7 and 8 December. Many come on foot or by bicycle. A roadside monument to the Virgin, blessed on 6 December 1913, serves travellers in a hurry.
The sanctuary lies beside the road from Valparaíso to Santiago, 32 km southeast of Valparaíso in Casablanca commune. Pilgrims arriving on 7 and 8 December come mostly from Santiago and the Valparaíso Region, many on foot, so sturdy shoes and water are needed. A roadside monument to the Virgin stands by the path for travellers in a hurry.
After the 1906 earthquake destroyed the third chapel, the altar wall holding the Virgin's image was found still standing amid the ruins. The present temple was begun with its first stone blessed on 8 December 1908 and inaugurated in 1913, built of iron and cement with a galvanized iron roof and stamped brass ceiling.
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