LA PAZ, Argentina — A group of Bolivians has staged a pilgrimage to protest an artist’s rendition of their patron saint wearing red underwear and black stockings.
LA PAZ, Argentina — A group of Bolivians has staged a pilgrimage to protest an artist’s rendition of their patron saint wearing red underwear and black stockings.
Artist Rilda Paco has faced criticism and death threats over her painting of the Virgin of Socavon in the mostly Roman Catholic country.
The protesting faithful dropped to their knees Thursday before a huge statue of the Virgin in the city of Oruro, about 120 miles (190 kilometers) south of La Paz.
As the faithful sang and prayed, the sun broke out on a rainy day. Oruro Archbishop Cristobal Bialasic that said was “a sign of purification before such a serious offense.”
The statue is nearly 150 feet (45 meters) high — a shade less than New York’s Statue of Liberty.
