Connections...Connections...Connections...

One Santiagueña in Lujan.

What´s the connection between Santiago del Estero and Luján? It´s strange to find out how things connect to each other sometimes. It seems like everything is linked in some way. The world is a handkerchief. I found a connection between Santiago del Estero and Lujan.


There is no connection you might think. You are wrong. There is something special that links these two cities.There is something special which is more than this simple route signal. There is always a connection. Continue reading and you will find out.


Santiago del Estero, the city where I was born 26 years ago, is situated in the north of the country, at 1300 km aprox from Buenos Aires and Lujan. Santiago is famous because it was the first city founded in Argentina that is why its nickname is "Mother of the Cities".

Luján is a city which is located in the province of Buenos Aires at 67 km from the capital city of the country. Lujan is a small, green and quiet city and it is famous because of the Virgin Mary. "Our Lady of Luján" was declared the the patron saint of the Argentines and the Basilic that was built in her honour was visited by Pope Juan Paul II during his stay in 1982.

What´s the connection between Santiago del Estero and Lujan?

Look at the sign below.

I was born in Santiago del Estero and I went walking to Lujan as a Pilgrim. One "Santiagueña" in Luján :)

However, the connection is bigger and stronger. The connection between Santiago an Lujan is the Virgin.

The Virgin of Lujan arrived to Argentina thanks to a "santiagueño". And the Virgin of Lujan is like the sister of the Virgin of Sumampa of Santiago del Estero.

Let´s take a look at the history.

The history of the shrine begins in 1630, with a farmer who came to Argentina from Portugal and he settled down in Sumampa, Santiago del Estero. This “santigueño” decided to build a little chapel on his land in the village, and he wrote to his friend in Brazil, asking him to send a small statue of Our Lady. The friend was not sure what the farmer wanted the statue of the Blessed Virgin to look like, so he sent two statues – one statue of Our Lady was holding the Child Jesus and the other statue was the Immaculate Conception. The statues were shipped by sea at first and then they were placed on a cart for the journey inland. Because the natives in the area were a fighting bunch, a number of carts and pack horses banded together in a caravan. When it became dark, they camped at the ranch of Don Rosendo de Oramus. Early the next morning, the carts began to set off one by one, all except the cart that carried the statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary; the driver was unable to get the horses to move the cart! Other men came to help, but all in vain – neither the animals nor the cart would move! Only when the statue of the Immaculate Conception was removed from the cart, did the horse start pulling. The statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus continued its journey and arrived safely in Sumampa, where it is still venerated today and The Immaculate Conception remainded at Lujan.
Source: http://www.sspx.ca/EucharisticCrusade/2005_May/Our_Lady_of_Lujan