Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Las Lajas Colombia

The Sanctuary of Las Lajas (Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Las Lajas) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica located within the canyon of the Guáitara River in Ipiales, Nariño Department, Colombia. The Marian shrine is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as Our Lady of the Rosary.

Pious believers claim that the colorful Madonna and Child image displayed on the rock wall is of divine origin and was formed without human intervention. The current church was built in a neo-gothic architectural style between 1916 and 1949. The name Laja is Spanish for a flagstone and comes from the name of a type of flat sedimentary rock.

Pope Pius XII granted a Pontifical Decree of coronation to the image as Sancta Virgo de Rupe (English: Holy Virgin of the Rock) on 31 May 1951. He also raised the Marian shrine to the status of a Minor basilica via his decree Templum per Decorum on 30 August 1954. Pope Paul VI granted the Marian title of the Virgin of the Holy Rosary as the Patroness of Ipiales via his decree Tutela Cælestis Virtutis on 26 April 1965.

It is a famous pilgrimage site for Christians from Colombia and neighboring Ecuador due to a apparition of the virgin that occurred here in the 18th century.

Nuestra Señora de Las Lajas, Ipiales, Nariño, Colombia.

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