For those who live in Bolivia, South America, February 2nd marks the anniversary of an unusual and unforgettable event that is centuries old.

It all began in the 16th Century, when Catholic missionaries were sent to convert the Indians who lived in this wild land. By 1582, there had been successful evangelization, and there was a community of converted Indians. But that year, a famine struck the area. The people prayed, as individuals, and in organizations of prayer, but still the famine plagued them.

The friars there could not help but think how much the people of Bolivia would benefit by a statue of Our Lady; a physical reminder of Her Love and Protection and an encouragement to hope and faith in their sufferings.

Although It would not be the first time that Indians of this village had ever seen statues of the Blessed Mother, the missionaries were too poor to obtain one. One Indian though, Francisco Tito Yupanqui, who had seen such statues in a district known as La Paz, had an idea. Inspired by these holy works of art, and seeing the dire need of his people, Francisco set to work himself to construct such a statue for their own village church.

The good young man had to work hard. After all, he had never made a statue before, and there was a lot to learn! But despite all this, he did his best with what he had to work with. Using wood, maguey, plaster, and stucco, he built a statue of Our Lady with the Baby Jesus - a structure that stood 4 feet tall!

The statue was a meager work, somewhat awkwardly porportioned - particularly in the area of Mary's Hand holding Jesus, and His posture in Her Arm.

But at least it was a completed statue of Our Lady for the village. After all his work, young Francisco could only hope that this simple statue would fulfill the goal it was made for - to be installed in the church and inspire faith in his fellow Indians. What a consolation for everyone to kneel before it and pray to their Holy Mother!

The poor Indian was in for a disappointment when he showed it to the people. They did not like the statue at all, and did not hesitate to criticise it. Worst of all, they complained outright that the Virgin Mary's face was very ugly.

The people staunchly protested to the idea of this unskilled man's sculpture standing in their church! So, Francisco would have to find some other place for his statue.

The poor artist approached a certain Franciscan of the village, (who interestingly had the same first name), Fr. Francisco Navarette, and gave the statue to him. This priest, more understanding than the dissappointed people, kept the statue in his own house.

One day, as several friars were gathered in this house, an unnatural light shone in the room. All eyes quickly turned to the source of the light. The friars were both surprised and touched by what they saw: The handywork of a simple soul, the first statue of Mary in that village, was all aglow, and emanating heavenly light.

Most of all, the face of the statue was miraculously changed. It was beautiful!

At this extraordinary demonstration by Our Lady, the friars promptly installed Her statue in the village church. As soon as the people saw this transformed statue, grace touched their hearts, and they set at once to pray fervently to the Blessed Mother. Many favors were granted, including the cure of ailments. Word spread, and before long, a new, larger church, had to be built for the crowds who flooded to the staue with their prayers.

How the friars must have thought back to when they lamented the absence of a statue of the Holy Virgin in their village. They could never have guessed how their prayer would be answered - neither in the spontaneous work of an untrained villager, nor in the statue's Heavenly modification!

To this day, the face of the statue is not the face that the villagers scorned so long ago.

One might think that The Blessed Mother worked a miracle to change the statue, because She didn't want an ugly statue of Herself shown in public. Such a thought is understandable, but wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Of all of the statues of Our Lady, how many have been miraculously transformed to a beautiful state? Our sweet Mother did not work this miracle because She was displeased with the statue. On the contrary, it filled Her with delight. Why? Because, instead of being made with a self-confident pride (as is sadly so easily the case with 'great masterpieces' of the world), it was the result of the humble faith and and great sacrifice of a man who really loved Her. In fact, it was in reward for his sincere labor and pure desire that the Queen of Heaven made his statue miraculous; most of all with the miracles of grace and favors that She has bestowed upon those who have visited its shrine.

A lesson truly learned from this simple statue is that the true worth of anything is not how it pleases men, but how it pleases God. By this miraculous transformation of the statue's face, the Blessed Mother also wanted to show the villagers Her love for them all, and Her gratitude toward Francisco Yupanqui - and toward anyone who loves Her.

This remarkable statue is still in Bolivia, South America, where it has been for centuries. It was first installed in the little village church four hundred and thirty-four years ago, on February 2nd, 1583.