The Alto Vista Chapel with labyrinth
Catholic pioneers
The original Alto Vista Chapel was built in 1750 under the supervision of Venezuelan missionary Domingo Antonio Silvestre, even though there was no priest to be found on the entire island. He won the souls of the Caquetios and paid for construction out of his own pocket. But the chapel did not protect against the plague, which swept through the village 26 years after it was built. The surviving believers then left. In the many decades that it was abandoned, the chapel fell into such disrepair that little more remained than tragic ruins. But, thanks to a resolute school teacher, the chapel rose again, 136 years after its abandonment.
Determined Francisca
While on a hike with her class in the 1940s, school teacher Francisca Henriques Lacle found a small painting of the Virgin Mary surrounded by flowers and candles. She saw this as evidence that the locals still felt strongly about this place. Although the Bishop of Curaçao originally rejected her request to rebuild the chapel, Francisco raised 5,000 florins through picnics to have a large statue of the Virgin Mary made in the Netherlands. When it arrived on the island, she received the bishop’s blessing for construction. The chapel she helped build stands proudly once more.
