Quick to the development of the religious fervor around the Nuestra Señora de Peña de Francia, the friars and the regulars slowly took possession of the supervision of the chapel, making the growth in the devotion a reason for erecting a sturdier and more spacious shrine made of mortar and stone.  The secular hand in the devotion represented by Fr. Covarrubias had to give way to those of the friars and the regulars.

Slowly, the rich and the famous and the mestizo inched their way into the shrine, crept into the care of the icon and into the manner she should be presented to the devotees.

The icon had to be covered with padding and plates of silver, hiding the entire body of both mother and child, except their faces, from the devotees.  The icon had to be made to wear a crown, her cape be studded with jewels, her body bathed in perfume imported from Spain. And from a sitting position, she was made to appear as standing, set up as she was on a silver pedestal. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [ Back ]