Monday 12 February 2007
A St. Christopher medal on the front grille of a construction vehicle in the Flores neighborhood.
I guess they don't mind so much down here that he's not exactly a saint any more. But then, there are an awful lot of home-grown "saints" in the countryside. They have shrines, receive gifts and pilgrims, grant miracles and answer prayers, all without the formality of vatican approval. The best story is of "La Difuncta," the Deceased, a woman who followed her husband into war across a desert. She died along the way, but some shepherds found her body days later, still nursing her child, and built a shrine right there. Now it is a major sight of pilgrimage and prayer, and needs a warehouse to store all of the gifts thanking the saint for answered prayers.
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