SPIRITUALITY
The constitution of Venezuela guarantees freedom of religion. More than 90% of Venezuelans are Roman Catholic and the Catholic church has considerable influence and political power. The Catholic faith was introduced to Venezuela by Spanish missionaries in the colonial period. As the indigenous groups converted to Catholicism, many Catholic rituals and festivals were influenced by traditional religions.

Most towns and communities in Venezuela have a patron saint. The saint's day will be celebrated in the community with a large fiesta. The patron saint of Venezuela is the Virgin of Coromoto. A vision of the Virgin Mary appeared to an indigenous chieftain called Coromoto in 1651. She left behind her image on a stone. The faded image can still be seen in the huge Basilica de la Virgén de Coromoto in Guanare, a town in the Llanos region.

Some Venezuelans venerate María Lionza. According to legend, she was the daughter of a Spanish conquistador and a princess from one of the indigenous tribes. She is sometimes portrayed as a beautiful woman riding an animal called a tapir, sometimes as a young girl wearing a crown. Her followers claim that she can heal people and perform miracles. She is also believed to protect animals and the natural environment. Every year many Venezuelans make a pilgrimage to her shrine, Montanas de Sorte de María Lionza, in the state of Yaracuy, especially on Día de la raza (Race Day) in October.
Many of the surviving indigenous religions in Venezuela are based on the belief that natural objects have spirits or souls. For example, the Yanomami people believe that there are spirits in the forest, or hekuri. These religions stress the importance of living in harmony with nature. Witchcraft (brujería) and belief in the powers of indigenous healers called curanderos are also important aspects of Venezuelan spirituality. 
 
 
   Did you know?
The Venezuelan government created a park in honour of María Lionza in 1960. This park covers almost 10,000 hectares, much of it virgin forest.