Our Lady of Altagracia Patron Saint of the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic has two Marian titles: Our Lady of Mercy, proclaimed in 1616, during the colonial era, and the Virgin of Altagracia, Protector and Queen of the hearts of Dominicans.

Her name: "de la Altagracia" reminds us that through her we receive the greatest grace which is to have Jesus Christ Our Lord. She, as Mother, continues her mission of mediator united inseparably to her Son. The children of Quisqueya affectionately call her "Tatica, the one from Higüey".

There are historical documents that prove that in the year 1502, on the island of Santo Domingo, the Virgin was already being worshipped under the title of Our Lady of Altagracia, whose oil painting was brought from Spain by the brothers Alfonso and Antonio Trejo, who were among the first European settlers of the island. When these brothers moved to the city of Higüey, they took this image with them and later offered it to the parish so that everyone could venerate it.

In 1572 the first Altagracia sanctuary was finished and in 1971 the present basilica was consecrated. The piety of the people tells that the devout daughter of a rich merchant asked him to bring her a picture of Our Lady of Altagracia from Santo Domingo. The father tried in vain to get it everywhere; neither clergymen nor merchants, no one had heard of this Marian invocation. Once back in Higüey, the merchant decided to spend the night in a friendly house. During the after-dinner conversation, saddened by the frustration his daughter would surely feel when she saw him arrive empty-handed, he shared his sadness with those present, telling them of his unsuccessful search. As he spoke, an elderly man with a long beard, who was also passing by, took out of his saddlebag a small rolled-up cloth and handed it to the merchant saying: "This is what you are looking for. It was the Virgin of Altagracia. At dawn the old man had disappeared shrouded in mystery.

The painting of Our Lady of Altagracia is 33 centimeters wide by 45 centimeters high and according to the opinion of the experts it is a primitive work of the Spanish school painted at the end of the 15th century or very early 16th century.

The canvas, which shows a scene of the Nativity, was successfully restored in Spain in 1978, being able to appreciate now all its beauty and its original coloring, since time, with its inclemencies, the smoke of the candles and the rubbing of the hands of the devotees, had notably altered the surface of the painting to the point of making it almost unrecognizable. On a thin canvas is painted the scene of the birth of Jesus; the Virgin, beautiful and serene, occupies the center of the painting and her gaze full of sweetness is directed to the almost naked child resting on the straws of the manger. She is covered by a blue mantle sprinkled with stars and a white scapular closes in front of her clothes.

Maria de la Altagracia wears the colors of the Dominican flag in anticipation of the national identity. Her head, framed by a radiance and twelve stars, holds a delicately placed golden crown, added to the original painting. Slightly withdrawn to the back, St. Joseph humbly observes, looking over his wife's right shoulder; and on the other side the star of Bethlehem shines shyly and discreetly.

The frame supporting the painting is possibly the finest expression of Dominican goldsmithing. An unknown 18th century artist constructed this marvel of gold, precious stones and enamels, probably using some of the jewels that devotees have offered to the Virgin as a testimony of gratitude.

The image of Our Lady of Altagracia had the special privilege of having been crowned twice; on August 15, 1922, during the pontificate of Pius XI and by Pope John Paul II, who during his visit to the island of Santo Domingo on January 25, 1979, personally crowned the image with a diadem of gilded silver, his personal gift to the Virgin, the first evangelizer of the Americas. John Paul II also visited the Virgin in her basilica in Higüey.