Lord of Miracles

Señor de los Milagros (engl. "The Lord of the Miracles " ) is a Catholic festival which is celebrated every year on October 18 in Lima.

Origin

It goes back to a portrait of a black crucified Christ that was found on a mud wall in the quarter Pachacamilla in 1651. The picture was probably painted by a black slave from Angola who had immigrated during the conquest of the Inca Empire by the Spanish. This image on the mud wall resistance according to legend, all attempts to remove it and also survived the earthquake on November 13, 1655, which destroyed almost the whole city Lima, unharmed. Thereupon the wall with the picture a place of pilgrimage initially only for the black population of Peru. After the wall had survived with the image and the second major earthquake on October 20, 1687 without damage, it was accepted by all sections of society. In addition, it is reported that in 1670 the terminally ill from a tumor Andrés de León was healed there.

Impact and process

This festival is one of the most important processions in Lima. On a 2,000 -kilogram, made ​​of mahogany wood stretcher oil in a painted image of the Black Christ is supported by the 40 carriers of the Brotherhood Señor de los Milagros on the shoulders. Every 15 minutes alternate the carrier. There are 20 support groups. The procession begins at the church Las Nazarenas and ends after 24 hours in the church of La Merced. The stretcher crosses several times the center of Lima, and places a distance of six kilometers. Prior to the stretcher 75 Sahumadoras run with incense donors. Still further, going forward the Cantoras, women sing the traditional hymns. Behind the stretcher coming musical groups and then the procession to the subsequent population of Lima. The men of the Brotherhood, the faithful and especially the women, and the team from the football club Alianza Lima, the patron of the Señor de los Milagros is, are dressed entirely in purple during October. The purple color is attributed to the founder of the Institute Nazareno, Antonia Lucia, who was responsible for the clothes selection, to the year 1677.