Ric Francis Photography: Documentary photography in East Central Africa and Norway

Our Lord of Miracles

Peru has an annual celebration in honor of Our Lord of Miracles (Senor de los Milagros); it's marked by an outdoor mass and procession. 

Our Lord of Miracles is rooted in African culture. According to tradition, in 1651 an enslaved man from Angola, who had converted to Catholicism, painted the depiction of Christ crucified on the wall of a building in Lima. In 1655 a major earthquake hit the area destroying the building, but the wall adorned with the painting was unharmed. Another earthquake, in 1687, caused the building to collapse and again the wall with the painted image remained intact. This cemented the importance of the image to the faithful.  

A replica of the image (with the Virgin Mary on one side) was created and is taken out in procession through the streets of Peru annually. The veneration of the image has international as well as national significance and it is associated with miraculous incidents. 

 

  • Thousands of Peruvians gather downtown to celebrate Senor de los Milagros (Our Lord of Miracles) outside the Church of Nazarenas.
  • A man sells photographs marking the celebration of Senor de los Milagros (Our Lord of Miracles) in downtown Lima.
  • Peruvians gather downtown to celebrate Senor de los Milagros (Our Lord of Miracles).
  • Worshipers stand and wait for hours to see the procession.
  • Women dressed in traditional capes watch and sing as a procession carrying a painting adorned with the image of Our Lord of Miracles arrives.
  • A child is held aloft, for good luck, before the image of Senor de los Milagros (Our Lord of Miracles).
  • Women dressed in traditional capes offer blessings to those following the procession of Our Lord of Miracles.
  • The faithful greet the procession bearing the image of Our Lord of Miracles.
  • Our Lord of Miracles (Senor de los Milagros) is the country's most widely attended religious event and was founded by Afro-Peruvians.
  • A woman dressed in a traditional cape follows the procession.
  • Worshipers position themselves to view the procession - Our Lord of Miracles.
  • The procession makes its way through downtown Lima.
  • A boy lights a candle as he joins a procession for Senor de los Milagros (Our Lord of Miracles).
  • School girls walk in a tightly knit line as they follow the procession.
  • The procession eventually makes its way through every neighborhood, in Chulucanas, with the faithful eagerly awaiting its arrival.
  • A woman sings as the procession passes through her neighborhood.
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