The devotion to the Divine Shepherdess originated in Spain, inspired by the Capuchin friar Isidore of Seville. It arrived in Venezuela with the Capuchins, particularly in Barquisimeto, where over the years it drew thousands of pilgrims every January 14th in a massive procession from the town of Santa Rosa to Barquisimeto. Saint José Gregorio Hernández always had a deep Marian devotion, but after living for so many years in the parish of La Pastora in Caracas, he embraced this new devotion, to which he prayed daily with great love and respect.