Devotion to Nuestra Señora de la Caridad (Our Lady of Charity), finding its origins in Spain, began in Cuba in the early 1600’s when three youths were caught in a storm while in their small boat in the bay of Nipe in the north eastern Cuba. As the storm subsided they saw a small statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus with her left hand and the cross with her right. The statue floated on a board which read “Yo soy la Virgen de la Caridad” (I am the Virgin of Charity). The youths took the statue with them and great devotion to Our Lady of Charity soon began to spread in Cuba. The image was kept and venerated in the town of El Cobre, where a shrine was eventually built. In 1916 Our Lady of Charity was declared the patroness of Cuba by Pope Benedict XV, and in 1977 the shrine was raised to basilica by Pope Paul VI. Since the shrine is located in the town of El Cobre, not far from the Bay of Nipe, she is called Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre.

For four centuries she has been and continues to be loved and venerated as the mother and patroness of Cuba. She is the one who leads her children to her Son Jesus, the Savior of humanity. She is the mother who consoles and watches over her children. She is the mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ who, as he hung on the cross, gave her to all of us as our mother. Since then Christians of every nation, language and culture have been taking the Virgin Mary into their homes, into their hearts, into their lives embellishing her great and holy name with beautiful titles which express their love for her and her love for us.

Cubans have taken the devotion to Our Lady of Charity wherever they have gone. In Miami, Florida stands the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre (The Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre) founded in 1967 by the then Bishop of Miami, the Most Reverend Coleman F. Carroll. Father Agustín Aleido Román was named as its rector and in 1979 he became auxiliary bishop of Miami. Under his leadership the Ermita became, and continues to be, a focal point of devotion and love for Our Lady and a place where thousands find consolation, encouragement, and guidance as they visit and pray there. In 2000 the Ermita was raised to national shrine by the bishops of the United States. The small statue which is enshrined above the altar is an exact replica of the original statue housed and venerated at the shrine in El Cobre to this day. This replica arrived in Miami on September 8, 1961 after being smuggled out of Cuba and arriving in Miami just in time for the Mass being celebrated on that day by Archbishop Carroll. Ever since, on September 8th, her feast day, the Archbishop of Miami celebrates the Mass at which thousands attend. Our Lady of Charity continues to be the beacon of light that leads us to to her Son Jesus Christ, the Light of the world.