A metal sculpture of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Monterrey, in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, swept into the Santa Catarina River by the wind during Hurricane Alex in 2010, was found after Hurricane Hanna in July this year. .
There have been attempts to salvage the statue of Our Lady but were unsuccessful because it was buried too deep in the riverbed. The local government has replaced the statue with a copy.
This past July, as Hurricane Hanna raged on the site that was devastated by Hurricane Alex 10 years ago, winds and floods reshaped the Santa Catarina River bed and raised part of the statue of Our Lady in the river.
Esteban Ramirez, a local bricklayer, found the statue when he was searching for scrap metal in the rocky riverbed. The statue is more than 12 meters high and weighs 10 tons and was picked up from the river bed. The statue began to be restored.
Part of the statue's metal frame will not be restored. Officials hope that the unrestored pieces of the statue will tell about the statue's 10-year history of lying on the riverbed and about God's Providence.
The find of the statue is a signal of hope for Catholics during the coronavirus pandemic, with the belief that Our Lady accompanies them in their trials.
A construction company is restoring the statue and paying for it. The statue was previously located in Monterrey in 1990, when preparing for the visit of this city by Pope John Paul II. Once the restoration is complete, the statue will be placed in the parish of Our Lady of the Queen of Mexico in this city.
