Our Lady of the sunbeam
With a cult going back over two hundred years, this revered statue can be found in the parish church of St. Sebastian the Martyr, located in the old neighborhood of the same name in Merida.
This statue, probably made in Spain, is the central character in a legend which bishop Crescencio Carrillo y Ancona published in 1892 under the title “Holy Mary, Our Lady of St. Sebastian, the Sunbeam”, and which also speaks about the construction of the church, probably in the late 18th century.
The story goes that in 1796, the governor Juan Esteban Quijano Zetina was visited by a poor woman who despite her poverty radiated dignity and elegance. She asked him for help in repairing her house, which was no more than a hut, because both the weather and animals that came in made it dangerous to live in. The visitor told him that her home was in what was then a village near Merida, but would later become the St. Sebastian district.
The governor, who was known for his piety and honesty, told her he would help her, and asked for her address. The woman told him she lived in the village square, and that when he arrived, he would see how the sun shone in her face. The governor gave her a coin, and a few days later went to the village. In the square, all he saw was the decrepit old chapel roofed in palm leaves, which had obviously been repaired many times since it was first built in the 16th century, but where religious service continued to be held.
The governor entered the ruined chapel just as the congregation were singing the Salve Regina, and he joined in the service. When he looked up at the altar and saw the statue of the Virgin, brought from Castille many years before, he recognised the beautiful woman who had come to ask his help. And just at that moment, says Bishop Carrillo in his account, a sunbeam struck the face of the holy image. At the end of the service, the governor went up to the statue and, as he was kissing its feet, he saw the coin he had given the poor woman. Thereupon he ordered a stone church to be built.
Throughout the 19th century, the church building underwent several modifications and improvements, which were finalized in the first decade of the 20th century. It was designated a parish in 1889.
Although the exact origin and date of the statue’s arrival in Yucatan are unknown, its stylistic features suggest it was made in the 18th century.
Some features of this revered image, standing on the high altar, are a crown of twelve stars; a range of elegant costumes which she wears for various events and religious festivals throughout the year; a circular pedestal carved with the faces of cherubim; and a large metal waxing moon. It can be viewed during times of church services.
The patronal feast of the Assumption, or the Virgin of St. Sebastian, or Our Lady of St. Sebastian, as she is often called by the faithful, is celebrated on the 15th of August with religious ceremonies and popular activities.
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