The Virgin of the Miracle Chapel was declared Property of Cultural and Provincial Historical Interest. To understand the historical relevance of what happened this Thursday in Felicia, you have to go back to 1885.
for those years Pirola’s Maine Announced, upon immigrating from Italy, he settled in the vicinity of Esperanza, in the Felicia neighborhood. Having lost his speech after an attack by the Indians, He promised the Virgin of the Miracle that if she spoke again, he would build a chapel in her honor.. And so it happened in 1891. Today, 132 years later, the Virgin of the Miracle is a phenomenon that grows daily, where thousands of faithful gather every October 9 to celebrate their day.
Before a large number of neighbors who gathered at Club Atlético Felicia, provincial authorities made official the delivery of the documents that declare the Virgen del Milagro Chapel as the patrimony of all Santa Fe residents.
The Minister of Culture Jorge Llonch; the provincial senator Rubén Pirola; President Félix Stettler and residents of the town of Las Colonias department.
Ecumenical Center
Since your beginnings, Felicia grew and developed standing out for her faith. Before 1900, only 25 years after the initial layout, the Catholic temple and the one belonging to the Evangelical Church of the Río de la Plata were already guarding religiousness.
He Communal Chief Felix Stettler He stated that over time the Chapel of La Virgen del Milagro had also arrived in the town, protecting with its mantle the thriving growth of the emerging colony. Over time, the Adventist and Evangelical Christian creeds were also installed.
“Today, one of the characteristic signs of the people is its ecumenical and believing roots, its harmonious coexistence and the common prayer to overcome difficulties and give thanks for life. Today we have become an Ecumenical Center and of shared religiosity, for this reason we invite everyone to visit us. Here there are no cracks, here you work for the people. When from management we have the possibility of bringing a wish to the Santa Fe government and the wish is fulfilled, it is very easy to manage. It is not difficult to be a communal president when the responses of the provincial organizations are efficient, and show that the interior exists. The peoples need to be heard”.
For his part he Minister of Culture Jorge Llonchstated that the faith that moved the transfer of the virgin from Italy to Rosario and by cart to Felicia, infected an entire town.
“Neighbors of Felicia and many towns in the province and the country come to the town every year to venerate the Virgin of the Miracle and tour the Museum of Promises. After the request of Senator Pirola and the community president Stettler, we quickly began to study the issue. A Historical Heritage Decree is not something that happens every day, the provincial government made a commitment to custody of the chapel, the virgin and the museum. I take with me the happiness of a historical event for the province of Santa Fe, to know and know what happened here in Felicia ”, he highlighted.
Recovery and enhancement
After the declaration of the Chapel of the Virgen del Milagro and the attached Museum as an Asset of Historical, Cultural and Provincial Interest, now communal authorities with the support of provincial senator Rubén Pirola, work on a project to value all that iconic space for the town.
Currently, a work plan for the expansion and recovery of the chapel was presented to the Ministry of Public Works of the Nation, within the framework of the Towns and Historic Centers program.
“It is a source of pride for Felicia. It will also allow us to raise improvement projects, and the conformation of the museum. This opens a very big door for the future., is the first step to be able to classify it as a national historical monument. What has been achieved by the working group of the commune, of the Ministry of Culture headed by Jorge Llonch, with the support of Senator Rubén Pirola and Governor Omar Perotti is very important”, Stettler pointed out.
History
The Chapel was built by the family of Mrs. Announced Pirola in response to a promise made since, having been left mute, promised to bring the image of the Virgin that his family venerated in Italyin case of recovering speech.
The picture life-size (located inside the chapel) arrived in the town between 1885 and 1890 from Italyis brought by boat to Rosario and by cart to Felicia and was placed in the family home.
Due to the influx of pilgrims it was decided to make a chapel that was inaugurated in 1901, which is passed from generation to generation until the Guse-Pirola family decides to donate it to the community, today communal property. The house and chapel complex was built according to the colonial typology of longitudinal bodies composed of successive rooms in a linear fashion around patios and articulated by galleries.
It is worth noting that the Chapel it is small with a single gabled nave, the entrance in the axis with an iron cross on the ridge, it is a vaulted enclosure with a raised altar with the sculptural ensemble of the Virgin protected by glass and a granite base, with capacity for around thirty people seated.
