We thank the Virgin of Guadalupe for letting us find our donkey. So it wasn’t stolen form the place where we had left him tied while we were doing shopping.

My daughters were playing hide and seek and got lost in the burnt forest. They were afraid because everything around was back and dead. But suddenly hundreds butterflies appeared and began to fly around my daughters. The girls followed them and got out the forest. I thank the Virgin of Zapopan for this miracle.

Ofelia Carrasco thanks Saint Francis because her lost puppy was found in the dirty river, so now everybody calmed down.

My brother Valerio and I went to the desert to pick up some peyote. When the night fell, we couldn’t find our way back. We were scared hearing the howls of the hungry coyotes. We thank the Saint Michael the Archangel for the astonishing miracle he made, when suddenly a magic dear appeared to us. It illuminated our way and guided us off the desert avoiding any danger. Just seeing this magnificent shining animal gave us peace and brought harmony to our souls for a long, long time.

I thank Saint Francis for hearing our prayers. My son and I went to USA as illegal immigrants, but we got lost. Luckily, we were found by the immigration police, so now I can tell about that.

Juan Gutierrez

When my daughter and I were coming back home from the village of San Francisco, we took a wrong way and got lost. It was getting dark, and the night caught us halfway. In the night thousand of fiery eyes were looking at us from the darkness, and we heard horrifying noises. We give thanks to the Virgin of Guadalupe because an old man was passing by. He saw us and guided us to the right way. Afterwards we arrived to our village very quickly and without problems.

May 2000, we went through the desert with a dream to get to USA and to make some money. After four days we understood that we were lost. We had no food, no water. We felt that death was near. We started to pray to the Virgin of Guadalupe to save us from dying like dogs, far away from our beautiful and beloved Mexico. We read Our Father and went to sleep. We were saved by some peasants who took us to Nogales, where the border is. We had no money, but we were alive. May you be blessed, Virgin! And to other Mexicans I want to say this: think before you go across the border because there is nothing better than our Mexico. Two chilangos are telling you.

I thank the Virgin of San Juan for enlightening me so I could return back to my house. I had got lost and couldn’t find my way home. I thank for the help and offer this ex-voto.

Mrs. Anastacia

My husband went fishing, but his boat never turned back because of a dense fog. Three days later a giant octopus dragged the boat pushing it with the tentacles. My husband was alive, and I thank the Virgin of the Rosary for that.

The two Gregorio Martinez’ cows got lost. He though he’d never see them again. but thanks to the St. Francis’ miracle the cows came back safe and sound. Gregorio thanks for that with the retablo.

Our grandmother Margarita entrusted us with her animals while she went to Puebla to visit our aunt Juanita. But the spoiled grandmother’s pig Rosita escaped from me and my brother through our negligence. We couldn’t find her, and we entrusted ourselves to Saint Francis of Assisi, because our grandmother had a bad temper and she would be furious. Thank to the saint we found the pig near by the village and we caught her.

I dedicate this retablo to the Virgin Mary because I found the pig we had lost.

We sincerely thank Saint Jude Thaddaeus for saving us from dying of thirst when we went as illegal immigrants in USA and got lost in the desert.

Pedro Godinez Rios and Maribel Peralta Lopez
Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato
May 20, 1959