When is Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá Day?
From 2026, Colombians will have a new holiday in the official calendar. In June 2026, the National Government passed a law declaring the Day of Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá, a religious celebration that is commemorated every year on July 9th.
As with other holidays in Colombia*, the public holiday will be observed on the following Monday if July 9th doesn't fall on a Monday.
With the passing of the law, the date will be officially recognised as a paid rest day for workers in the public and private sectors throughout the country.
History of Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Chiquinquirá (Spanish: Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá) is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and is associated with a venerated image in the northern Andes region.
She has been for centuries the patroness saint of Colombia. Under this venerated title, the image is the patroness saint of Colombia.
The first and original painting was made by the Spaniard Alonso de Narváe in 1562.
Alonso de Narvaez was a Spanish painter who had been asked to create an image of the Blessed Virgin by Don Antonio de Santana for an oratory he had built. He painted his image using pigments he created himself using local soil, herbs, and flowers. His canvas was probably a woven cloth made by the local Indians.
The completed canvas was then hung unprotected in the poorly built oratory. The painting soon became worn and faded, and was removed and taken to Chiquinquira, where it ended up being used as a bed to dry wheat in the sun. It remained there for seven years.
When Dona Maria Ramos arrived from Spain, she was heartbroken to find the chapel being used for animals and the painting in such a horrid condition.
Day after day, Maria prayed for the rebirth of the chapel. On December 26th 1586, at nine in the morning, the canvas began to brighten as the sun’s rays shone upon it. Suddenly, it was brightened by the image of the Holy Virgin, and then the entire image was restored. The image actually healed as holes and tears in the cloth seemed to seal themselves.
Maria was astonished, and soon the miracle was drawing crowds of people. Miraculous cures followed, and church officials ordered an investigation into the validity of such claims. Many were validated.
Pope Pius X on January 9 1910 authorised the Canonical Coronation of the image, but it was not carried out until July 9th 1919 due to the political turmoil at the time.
Pope Pius XI raised her sanctuary to the status of minor basilica via the Pontifical decree Exstat in Colombia on August 18th 1927. Pope John Paul II visited the sanctuary on July 3rd 1986.
* Law 51 of 1983, better known as the Emiliani Act, establishes that paid rest days that fall on workweek days must be moved to the following Monday. The law was created by Raimundo Emiliani Román, a recognised Colombian politician, who established this rule for two objectives:
- Productivity: Prevent the workweek from becoming fragmented, allowing companies to maintain a continuous flow from Monday to Friday (or Saturday).
- Tourism: Create long weekends (three days) to encourage citizens to travel, which would boost the economy of regions, hotels and restaurants.
