An 18th-century cedar wood statue (6 cm/2.3 in) of the Virgin is perhaps Honduras' most popular religious image, and the focus of an extensive pilgrimage.

Many Hondurans believe the statue was miraculously discovered in late January or early February 1747 by a labourer, Alejandro Colindres.

The next morning, Colindres discovered that he had been sleeping on a tiny statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary,[3] which he took home with him and set up on the family altar in his mother's house.

In 1986 it was stolen and stripped of its gold, silver, and jewels, and left in the men's room of the restaurant La Terrraza de Don Pepe in Tegucigalpa.

[citation needed] La Morenita (the Dear Dark One) is carved in cedar wood, and measures less than 2.5 inches in size.

The statue is covered by a dark cloak trimmed with golden stars and adorned with valuable jewels.

[3][4] In 1925, Pope Pius XI declared her Patroness of Honduras under the title Our Lady of Suyapa, and selected February 3 as her feast day.