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Colossal sanctuary on the air The news of the miracle in the gorge of Guitara
spread by all peoples to the round with unusual speed . The original chapel of
wood and straw , soon succeeded him in 1794 a chapel of lime and brick. A midnineteenth century a first sanctuary that eventually would also small to house the
influx of faithful especially in the holidays rose.
Thus, it is in times of great Ezequiel Moreno Diaz, the holy bishop of Pasto , which
arises the bold idea of building a magnificent temple over the abyss. The sky is the
bold ! And in 1899 the famous Augustinian barefoot Shepherd seconded the idea
through a Pastoral Letter . But due to the political instability of the time , just the 1st
of January 1916 is placed the first stone of the present sanctuary. The work
received during 33 years the momentum of successive chaplains, until its
completion in 1949. His inauguration was led by Msgr. Diego Tamayo Maria
Gomez , Archbishop of Popayan , being parish priest Fr. Justin C. Mejia and Mejia ,
persistent historian of Las Lajas.
By the grace of Pope Pius XII, Our Lady of the Lajas was canonically crowned on
September 15 , 1952, in a grand celebration attended by almost all thebishops of
Colombia . In 1954 , the Holy See granted the sanctuary the titl of Basilica Minor.