This silver religious medal was used as a milagro (also called an ex-voto). Among many Hispanic Americans in Catholicism, milagros are votive offerings that represent the subject of a petitionary prayer, often fastened to an image or statue of the Virgin Mary or a saint in order to strengthen a petition or in gratitude for an answered prayer. The donor, Teodoro Vidal, offered this medal to the statue of a saint he purchased from Virginia Cajigas, a noted maker of religious art in Puerto Rico. The medal features the figure of a lamb bearing a cross and flag, an emblem representing Christ and part of the official seal of Puerto Rico. This symbol on the official seal demonstrates the importance of Catholicism in Puerto Rico. Its presence on a milagro gestures to the prevalence of this devotional practice among many Puerto Ricans.
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