Las Lajas Sanctuary

This South American Church in the middle of the Guáitara river canyon in Colombia looks like a European castle.

Image Credit Flickr User Houston Marsh

The canyon was the site of a Marian apparition in 1754. Legend says that the Blessed Virgin appeared to an Amerindian mother and her deaf and speechless daughter who had taken shelter in the canyon during a storm. Immediately the daughter gained the ability to speak and hear. A blind man travelled the area collecting funds to build a place of worship at the site. When he had collected enough money a small chapel was built and the man miraculously regained his eyesight. The current magnificent structure was built between 1916 and 1949.

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