“Did you know that this very chapel witnessed a series of miraculous apparitions?” I ask.
The Capilla Católica Señor del Buen Suceso stands before us a humble yet significant building. It’s more than just bricks and mortar. It is a place where history whispers and faith takes tangible form. This seemingly ordinary chapel holds a treasure trove of extraordinary events.
In 1594 Mother Mariana Francisca de Jesús Torres a Concepcionist nun claimed to experience apparitions of the Virgin Mary. These apparitions continued until 1634. The Virgin identified herself as “Mary of Good Success Queen of Heaven and Earth”. These apparitions weren’t mere visions. They included prophecies. The Virgin foretold the independence of Ecuador. She also predicted the assassination of President Gabriel García Moreno a truly Christian man. This president would be martyred in a square near the convent. More disturbingly she foresaw a spiritual catastrophe within the Catholic Church itself. This would involve widespread moral corruption loss of innocence and a decline in priestly vocations.
The Virgin’s message wasn’t all doom and gloom. She also promised a restoration of faith following this period of tribulation. She even predicted the declaration of Papal infallibility as a dogma of faith. This prophecy came to pass in 1870.
An incredible detail about the Capilla Católica Señor del Buen Suceso involves a statue of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin in her apparitions instructed Mother Mariana to commission a statue. The sculptor Francisco del Castillo began the work. But the statue was miraculously completed by the archangels Michael Gabriel and Raphael along with Saint Francis of Assisi. They intervened to finish the statue’s painting. This event itself is a testament to the extraordinary nature of the apparitions. This unique image which differs from other representations of the Virgin of Good Success holds a crosier and the keys of the monastery.
The prophecies of Our Lady of Good Success are compiled in a document known as “El Cuaderno”. Sadly this book was lost within the walls of the Real Monasterio de la Limpia Concepción in Quito. However the essence of her message survives through biographical accounts of Mother Mariana.
This unassuming chapel is therefore far more than a place of worship. It’s a site of profound spiritual significance. It’s a place where faith history and miracle intertwined. The Capilla Católica Señor del Buen Suceso stands as a living testament to the power of belief and the enduring message of Our Lady of Good Success. It is a place of profound peace and reflection a reminder of divine intervention in the human story.