Overview
- Governor Américo Villarreal Anaya led the December 12 inauguration during the Day of the Virgin observances, drawing thousands of pilgrims to the hilltop sanctuary.
- The figure rises roughly 32 meters atop a two-meter base and is engineered in stainless and carbon steel to withstand strong winds and hurricanes.
- Sculptor Elizabet (Elizabeth) Pesquero created the piece over about three years, assembling large sections on site at the sanctuary.
- State leaders present the monument as both a symbol of faith and a driver of regional tourism, linking it to a decades-old pledge by the governor’s father to strengthen the site.
- Local reporting notes an unusual claim that the statue’s pupils were blessed at the Holy See on November 9, a detail not independently corroborated in the other accounts.