Buenaventura · Portobelo · Province of Colón · Panama
The Valley of the Half Moon
A place of pilgrimage, conversion and healing since 1987
The story
A chosen place
It all began in 1986, when the Blessed Virgin Mary manifested herself in the life of Rolando “Ito” Muñoz Cedeño, a young man from the province of Los Santos who received the spiritual name Elías Epifanía. In his visions a valley appeared: a hill, a tree with leaning branches, precise signs of a place no one yet knew.
His brother Ronald searched the Cartography Section of the Comptroller General’s Office and found the maps of two places called Buenaventura Arriba and Buenaventura Abajo, in the province of Colón — the Atlantic coast, north of Panama City. With the Virgin’s words recorded on a small tape recorder and the map in hand, they set out at dawn toward a province neither of them knew. That is how the Valley of the Half Moon was found, beside the road that leads to Portobelo.
On March 20, 1987 the first great Encounter took place: lines of buses and cars from all over the country parked along the road to Portobelo, and whole families prayed the Way of the Cross along the narrow dirt-and-stone rural path, under the rain and with great joy.
Since then, the valley became a center of pilgrimage, conversion and healing. The temple was built there, the Mary Immaculate Conception Prayer Group was born, and the devotees began to venerate Our Lady of Hope of the Valley of the Half Moon, accompanied by the Bishop of Colón, Monsignor Carlos María Ariz.
The complete story — the manifestations on El Santísimo hill and Apocalipsis hill, the water of the spring, the teachings — is told in the book Más Allá del Sol.
The Panamanian press covered it since the nineties as the first Marian sanctuary of the country (Crítica, 1999).
The place
The signs of the valley
01
The spring
The water that springs up in the valley is a central part of its story: “Now, collect the water,” says one of the chapters of the book. Pilgrims collect it with devotion.
02
The green cross
The great green cross rises over the valley and also crowns the temple facade. It is the sign that welcomes every pilgrim arriving along the road to Portobelo.
03
The temple
Built by devoted hands together with the Marian Movement, with its Holy Spirit rose window, it is the heart of the valley’s celebrations.
04
The hills
El Santísimo hill and Apocalipsis hill were the setting of the first manifestations recounted by Elías Epifanía.
The heart of the valley
“The loudest cry of love is silence”
That phrase, written in golden letters above the arches of the altar, sums up the spirit of the valley’s temple. Under the Holy Spirit rose window the pilgrimage Masses are celebrated, and the Carmelite sisters and the prayer groups accompany every celebration.
In the chapel, Our Lady of Hope — with her green cross in hand — and the image of Saint Teresa of Jesus, so beloved by the prayer group, are venerated.
Visit
How to reach the Valley
The Valley of the Half Moon is located in the Buenaventura area, district of Portobelo, province of Colón, on Panama’s Atlantic coast. From Panama City take the road to Colón (Panama–Colón highway) and then the road to Portobelo; the valley lies beside that road, before reaching the historic town of Portobelo.
Pilgrimage dates
- First Saturday of April
- First Saturday of July
- First Saturday of October
- December 12 — anniversary of the first message (1986)
First time? Write to us and we will gladly help you join a pilgrimage with the prayer group.
Valley of the Half Moon — Monastery of the Discalced Carmelites, Buenaventura, road to Portobelo, Colón.
Images
Valley Gallery
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