Saint Mary of La Antigua: Difference between revisions

'''Saint Mary of La Antigua''' (Spanish: '''Santa María la Antigua''') is the title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated as the principal patroness of the Republic of Panama and its capital.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20190909_lettera-santamaria-antigua.html |title=Letter for the Fifth Centenary of the Diocese of Panama |publisher=Holy See |access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref> The devotion traces its origins to 1510 when the city of Santa María la Antigua del Darién—the first European settlement on the American mainland—was founded by Spanish conquistadors. A small wooden image of the Virgin, brought from Seville, became the focus of popular piety; when the settlement was abandoned in 1524, the statue was transferred to Panama City, where it was enthroned in the cathedral built in 1688–1796.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=8888 |title=Our Lady of La Antigua |publisher=Catholic Online |access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref>

On 9 September 2019, Pope Francis granted the image canonical coronation and declared Our Lady of La Antigua co-patroness of Panama alongside Saint Mary of Mercy, marking the first equivalent canonization of a Marian title in the Americas.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20190909_lettera-santamaria-antigua.html |title=Letter of Pope Francis |publisher=Holy See |access-date=2025-11-16}}</ref> Her feast day is 9 September. The crowned image, dressed in rich vestments, is venerated in the Cathedral Basilica of Santa María la Antigua in Casco Viejo, a UNESCO World Heritage site.