Antonio Avilés Burgos
Puerto Rican, born 1951
Our Lady of Charity / Virgen del Cobre, 2001
Polychromed wood
18 5/8 x 8 3/16 x 9 inches
Lent from a private Florida collection

Patroness of Cuba since 1916, Our Lady of Charity was credited with the miraculous survival of three boys who had been caught at sea in a powerful storm off the coast of Cuba around 1608. The following morning, the boys found a statue of the Virgin Mary—bearing the inscription “I am the Virgin of Charity”—that despite the storm and the ocean waves, was miraculously dry. Our Lady of Charity's feast day is celebrated on September 8.