The Apparition of Nuestra Senora de los Angeles

Pablo Antonio Peñuelas.
Breve noticia de la prodigiosa imagen de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, que por espacio de dos siglos se há conservado pintada en una pared de adove, y se venera en su santuario extramuros de México.
Mexico: Felipe de Zuñiga y Ontiveros, 1781. (BRB0353)

This account of a miraculous manifestation of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, includes details on its initial appearance and later transfer to a church for continuing veneration. According to Peñuelas, during a horrific flood in Mexico City in 1580 an image of the Virgin was retrieved by the cacique Isayoque. The local indigenous leader so revered the image he had it copied onto an adobe wall in a small church where it was venerated for two centuries. This image, illustrated in the top half of the engraving, shows the Virgin in ascension. The remainder of the plate, an unusual bird’s-eye view of the building and the surrounding streets, served to document the site, portray the popularity of the church, and promote the popular shrine.