Lourdes Suarez thanks Saint Francis of Assisi with this retablo for her pig give birth to four piglets. She’ll sell them with a good price.

My girlfriend’s parents didn’t like me visiting her. So I secretly started to climb a ladder to get to her balcony. But one night my mother-in-law accidentally pushed the ladder when she opened the kitchen window to scare some dogs fighting near the house. I thank the Virgin of the Rosary, because my mother-in-law was smitten with remorse, so I’ll be able to visit my girlfriend as soon as I get out of the hospital.

I thank Saint Isidor the Labourer because it’s finally raining after a long drought. Now my cows won’t die from thirst and hunger without grass and water.

Saint Thomas Aquinas, thank you for your favors. My bull broke the rope and went away. I was looking for him. When I finally found him grazing and tried to lasso him, he attacked me with his horn. Then my father came—he knew I went for our stud bull. Thank to my father and Saint Thomas the bull didn’t kill me.

Grecian Garcia
Tlaxcala, Mexico, 1969

The boy Rafael Vasquez loved his kitten very much. But one day the kitten ate the father’s parrot. Rafael thanks Saint Francis for his father didn’t put the kitten to sleep.

After many nights spent guarding, Guadalupe Gomez M. finally caught and enchained a cadejo (woman nagual) that used to kill and stole her animals. The cadejo looked like a pig. Guadalupe tied her with a special magic rope made of horse hair so she wouldn’t run away, because it was long after midnight. Early at the morning this pig started to scream and tried to escape, because it began to turn into human with sunrise. Her skin began to fall down. It meant that her end was near. Guadalupe thanks the Virgin of Guadalupe for help.

It happened on March 21, 1908, at the Echegaray village, Pijijiapan, Chiapas.

I went to the park every morning with an excuse of exercising in order to look at one pretty girl. She was exercising there. Unfortunately, one day she took her dog out. When the dog noticed me spying on her, it attacked me. I didn’t know how to escape and prayed to the Virgin of Zapopan for help. That moment the dog stopped chasing me. I thank the Virgin and promise to not spy anymore.

Carmelo Diaz
Zapopan, 1998

I was cleaning my son’s room and put all his stuff in a box. I was going to put it in the storeroom but when I opened the door dozens of bats flew out. They got all over the house. I was scared that they might drink our blood or infect us with rabies. I didn’t know what to do and I prayed to the Virgin of Zapopan. Thanks to her the bats escape through the opened door at the kitchen and the windows and went into the neighbor’s house. Thanks.

Roberto Jimenez got drunk and it made him easy to get into the zoo to box with a kangaroo. He thanks Saint Jude Thaddeus with this retablo for he survived the trashing given to him by the animal. Although he was arrested, he didn’t spent a lot of time in jail.

It was a very hot day, and the Hernandez sisters went to swim in the river. They were happily refreshing in the water, when suddenly their dog started barking furiously. Then they saw two horrible crocodiles approaching them. The sisters thank Saint Quiteria for they ran out of the river before being attacked by those fierce-toothed creatures.

The piglet Luis was about to be taken to the slaughterhouse. Thank you, Virgin, for they granted him life.

I was always followed by the dogs when I went out. I thought it happened because I went to the market and they wanted some food. But then I noticed that they followed me anywhere. Maybe because I care about them, talk with them and sometimes, if I can, I leave them something to eat. I thank the Virgin of San Juan for having a way with dogs.

Sister Maria Felipa and sister Marcela were attacked by some drug addicts in an alley. The sisters thank Saint Teresa with this retablo for some dogs appeared promptly and saved them.