(This is a compilation from various Internet Sources)
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Question: The Statue of the Infant Jesus of Good Success does not seem to be the same quality as that of the Virgin Mary. Why is that, if both were miraculously completed by the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, and St. Francis of Assisi?
Answer: The Statue of the Divine Infant we see today in the arm of Our Lady of Good Success is not the original statue. The original, according to descriptions of the time, was the worthy match of the perfect and majestic Statue of Our Lady. During a revolution in Quito, Ecuador, a Sister hid the statue of the Infant along with some important documents including the Cuadernon from the archives of the Royal Convent of the Immaculate Conception in a wall of the building. The Sister died a short time afterward without revealing the location where the objects were hidden. To replace the lost one, another statue of the Child was made, which does not achieve the same perfection as the first. According to the prophecy made by Venerable Mariana de Jesus Torres, the original statue will be found, but only after the present crisis of the Holy Church has ended and the restoration has begun.
The Miraculous Completion of the Statue of Our Lady of Good Success
by the Three Archangels and St. Francis of Assisi
On January 16, 1599, Our Lady appeared to Venerable Mariana Mariana de Jesus Torres, a Franciscan Conceptionist Abbess of Royal Convent of the Immaculate Conception, Quito, Ecuador. She told her,
“I am Mary of Good Success, an invocation well-known in Spain and one to whom you have often resorted... it is the wish of my Most Holy Son that you command a statue of me to be made, just as you see me now, and that you place it upon the Abbess’ chair so that I may govern my Convent. In my right hand, place the crosier and the keys to the cloister as a sign of my proprietorship and authority. In my left arm, place my Divine Child: first, so that the men understand how powerful I am in placating the Divine Justice and obtaining mercy and pardon for every sinner who comes to me with a contrite heart, for I am the Mother of Mercy and in me there is only goodness and love; and second, so that throughout time my daughters will understand that I am showing and giving them my most Holy Son and their God as a model of religious perfection. They should come to me, for I will lead them to Him.”
On February 2, 1610, Feast of the Purification of Our Lady, she appeared again and promised to Mother Mariana,
“With the making of my Statue, I will favor not only you and my Convent, but also the people – and the general public – through the centuries... As for your request that your name be hidden, this pleases me, and I will do as you have asked. Tell the Bishop that it is my will and the will of my Most Holy Son that your name be hidden at all costs, both within as well as outside the cloister, for it is not fitting for anyone at the present time to know the details or origin of how this Statue came to be made. For this knowledge will only become known to the general public in the 20th century. During that epoch the Church will find herself attacked by terrible hordes of the Masonic sect, and this poor Ecuadorian land will be agonizing because of the corruption of customs, unbridled luxury, the impious press, and secular education. The vices of impurity, blasphemy, and sacrilege will dominate in this time of depraved desolation, and that one who should speak out will be silent. Know, beloved daughter, that when your name will become known in the 20th century, there will be many who will not believe, claiming that this devotion is not pleasing to God. But the great sufferings of my daughters – and yours – of this time will make a melodious concert of humility and hidden penance for my Most Holy Son and myself. The Divine Spouse and I, His loving Mother, and you also will watch over our daughters from Heaven and guide them on the correct path that leads to Paradise... A simple, humble faith in the truth of my apparitions to you, my favored child, will be reserved for humble and fervent souls who are docile to the inspirations of grace, for our Heavenly Father communicates His secrets to the simple of heart, and not to those whose hearts are inflated with pride, pretending to know what they do not or infatuated with empty science.”
Then the Heavenly Queen told Mother Mariana that she would give her the exact measurements for her height so that the statue could be made just as she appeared there. She asked Mother Mariana to remove the cord that the religious wore around her waist and to give her one end of it. Mother Mariana held one end of the cord, placing it at the feet of the Queen of Angels. Our Lady took the other end and handed it to the Child Jesus, Who touched His end to the top of Our Lady’s forehead. The cord, which was too short, miraculously stretched to the exact height of His mother.
When Mother Mariana protested that she could never sufficiently describe the beauty of her heavenly mother, Our Lady promised the help of St. Francis and the Archangels in the making of her statue.
After the bishop gave his approval for the statue to be made, Mother Mariana sent for Francisco del Castillo, a sculptor of talent and, more important, a man of great virtue who loved the Queen of Heaven and fasted every Saturday in her honor. He received permission to work in the upper choir of the convent, and the bishop himself visited from time to time to see how the work was progressing. As the work neared completion, the sculptor decided to travel to Europe to find the best paints for the final coat of paint for the faces. He promised to return by January 16, 1611 to finish the project.
On the night before his return, Mother Mariana and all the sisters redoubled their prayers, asking Our Lady to complete her statue herself, as she had promised. In the early morning hours, while Mother Mariana was making her customary prayer alone in the sanctuary, the church was illuminated with celestial lights. The Tabernacle opened and she was given to understand the sublime mystery of the Incarnation of the Divine Word in the womb of Mary Most Holy. She also realized the infinite love of the Three Divine Persons for Mary, who was present there, magnificent and captivating.
Then the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael saluted the Queen of Heaven.
St. Michael bowed and said “Hail to Thee, Mary Most Holy, Daughter of God the Father.”
St. Gabriel said, “Hail to thee, Mary Most Holy, Mother of God the Son.”
And St. Raphael said, “Hail to Thee, Mary Most Holy, Most Pure Spouse of the Holy Ghost.”
Then in unison they intoned: “Hail to Thee, Mary Most Holy, Temple and Sacrarium of the Most Holy Trinity.”
In a flash, the heavenly trio was in the upper choir. Then St. Francis also appeared and from his wounded hands issued celestial rays. Accompanied by the three Archangels and followed by the celestial hosts, he approached the statue and in an instant they transformed it. He took his white cord and wrapped it around the waist of the holy statue. As the heavenly choir sang the Salve Sancta Parens, the Queen of Angels, amid this great joy, approached the statue and entered into it. At that moment the holy statue took on life and intoned with the celestial choir the Magnificat. It was 3 a.m., and the heavenly music awoke the sleeping sisters, who came to the choir that was filled with a brilliant light which overshadowed the statue and gradually diminished as they gasped in joy at the miraculous transformation.
When Francisco del Castillo arrived at the convent the next morning to give his final touches to the great work, he cried out in astonishment to see the statue completed: “What am I seeing? This magnificent statue is not my work. I cannot express what my heart feels. This is an angelic work, for a work of this nature could not be created on this earth by the hands of a mere mortal. No sculptor, no matter how skilled, could ever render such perfection and such unearthly beauty.” The truth of this miracle was sworn to in handwritten documents by this sculptor and by the bishop, who had been closely following the work and was astounded at the transformation.
A novena preparing for the statue’s formal installment was made, and on February 2, 1611, the bishop blessed the miraculous statue under the name of “Mary of Good Success of the Purification (or Candlemas Day).” She was carried in procession to the upper choir to the throne prepared for her so that she might rule and govern her house.
The Hidden Cuadernon
One of the prophecies of Mother Mariana was the loss of the Cuadernon. It is a big notebook which is a collection of original documents regarding the apparitions of Our Lady to Mother Mariana. After the miraculous transformation of the statue in the early morning hours of January 16, 1611, the next day Mother Mariana related what had happened to Bishop D. Salvador de Ribera. She told him that the notarized testimony of the artist Francisco del Castillo, who swore that the transformed statue was not his work, had been placed in the Cuadernon. Then she said,
“This document, as well as other precious things, will be hidden by my successors in a closet concealed in a wall of this Convent because of the public tumult of war when this Colony will be trying to make itself a free Republic. They will do this moved by fear of losing these precious articles, for they will not have the light to understand that no earthly power can cause harm to my Convent.”
“On one hand, Your Excellency, this will be desirable, because my life will not come to light until the 20th century. The other things will be found when the Franciscans return to govern the Convent, unless humble violence is made to Heaven imploring their recovery so they might be guarded as precious treasures here in my Convent. Otherwise, no merely human recourse will suffice to discover them.” (Life, vol. II. p. 76)
This is an allusion to what Our Lady told Mother Mariana on February 2, 1594,
“Soon the Franciscan friars will no longer govern this Convent, which is why my patronage and protection are more necessary than ever, for this difficult trial will last for centuries. With this separation, Satan will begin to try to destroy this work of God, making use of my ungrateful daughters. But he will not succeed, because I am the Queen of Victories and the Mother of Good Success, and it is under this invocation I desire to be known throughout time for the preservation of my Convent and its inhabitants.”
There are several interesting things to note in this prophecy:
First, that it was fulfilled to the letter. During a revolution in Quito during the independence period, the Cuadernon, along with the original statue of the Infant Jesus finished by the Archangels and the original Abbess' staff, were hidden in a wall of the building. The Sister who hid them died a short time afterward without revealing the location where the objects were concealed.
Second, Mother Mariana says that the items will be found when the restored and purified Franciscan Order return to govern the Convent. Today, the Convent is still under the jurisdiction of the Diocese.
Sources:
1. The Admirable Life of Mother Mariana Vol. 1 & 2 by Fr. Manuel Sousa Pereira O.F.M. (Note: with Ultra-Conservative Foreword by the Translator)
2. Our Lady of Good Success: Prophecies for Our Times by Marian Therese Horvat Ph.D. (Note: Marian is an Ultra-Conservative)
3. Various Internet Sources