The Basílica Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia is a Roman Catholic minor basilica

Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...

 and cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary located in Salvaleón de Higüey

Salvaleón de Higüey

Higüey , or in full Salvaleón de Higüey, is the capital city of the eastern province of La Altagracia, in the Dominican Republic. The river Yuma flows through the urban area of Higüey....

, Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

. The basilica is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey

Roman Catholic Diocese of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo.-Ordinaries:*Juan Félix Pepén y Soliman † - Bishop Emeritus...

. The basilica was decreed on December 17, 1970.

Among the many reasons that inspired its creation, there is one that highlights among the rest. A long time ago a little girl from same city asked her father for a portrait of the Virgin Mary. Her father (name unknown) brought the picture as gift for the little girl.
It is believed that the portrait was placed at the house of this little girl, but for some reason, at the brake of dawn of each day the portrait was always found outside the house, beneath a small tree. Every day this portrait was moved back inside by the girl, until she told her parents about it. The place became sacred, and the basilica was built on that same spot as reference of Mary's grace.