Through the joint efforts of Msgr. Baraquiel Mojica and Bishop Felix Perez, a petition was sent to Rome for the canonical coronation of the Virgin. The Holy See grants the privilege of crowning an image only in very rare and exceptional cases. "The Catholic rite of crowning originated in 1640, when Alejandro Sfortia, Marquis of Placencia, died leaving in his will a provision in which a large sum of money was to be invested and the proceeds to form a fund for the purchase of crowns of precious metals for the coronation of the most celebrated images in the world.