Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception and of the Triumph of the Cross of Panguil Bay (Spanish: Nuestra Señora dela Inmaculada Concepción y del Triunfo de la Cruz de Migpangi), also known as the Virgin of Cotta and The Blessed Virgin of Cotta (Cebuano: Birhen sa Cotta) is an 18th-century image of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental in the Philippines and is the patroness of the city.^[1] The image was named after the fort Fuerte de la Concepcion y del Triunfo of Panguil Bay where it was originally kept.

Quick Facts Virgin of Cotta Mahal na Birhen sa Cotta, Location ...

Virgin of Cotta Mahal na Birhen sa Cotta
Location	Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental,  Philippines
Date	1756
Type	Wood Statue
Shrine	Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Ozamiz City
Patronage	Ozamiz City Misamis Occidental Archdiocese of Ozamis
Attributes	Brown robes being blown by the wind, 3 angels, a crescent moon, a serpent underfoot biting a fruit
Feast day	July 16; December 8

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The wooden image shows the Virgin Mary standing on a cloud, wearing brown and white robes, carved as if being blown by the wind, a crown, and a scapular. At her foot are 3 angels, a crescent moon, and a serpent under her feet biting a fruit. The image is 35 inches from head to toe, while her crown and the cloud beneath her feet adds an additional 12 inches, a total of 3 feet and 11 inches.^[2] The image is approximately more than 250 years old.

The image was brought to Ozamiz sometime during the construction of the fort in 1756 or after it was finished. The fort was built by Father Jose Ducos, SJ, to serve as an outpost of Spanish suzerainty in Muslim Mindanao. Soon after, Father Ducos placed the fort and the town that grew around it under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Conception. The image, in the blue and pink attire, was enshrined in a special chapel that was built inside the walls of the fort. Outside the fort on the South wall facing the bay was also a carved bas relief image of the Virgin. The relief image wears a pink and blue dress and she stands on a crescent moon with three angels hovering in a cloud. A crown and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove can be seen above the Virgin.

Sometime between 1875 and 1884, fray Jorge Carcabilla, a Spanish priest that was assigned in Misamis at the time, moved the statue to the town's parish church (now the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Ozamiz) as the chapel and the image was not properly taken care of. The image was kept on the side of the altar of the church, and was encased in a crystal urn. Its feast is customarily observed on July 16, which is also the feast day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Because of that, the image was erroneously taken for that of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel by devout devotees who are unaware of the image's true origins and was repainted in the early 1930's. On December 8, 1954, the image participated in the Marian Congress in Manila. A few days before the event, the image was first brought to the sculpting firm of Maximo Vicente in order to be restored in preparation for the event.

In 1955, an earthquake occurred which caused the destruction of the church. Among the rubble was the Virgin, which was intact. Because of this, the devotees considered this as a miracle of the image. When the new cathedral was built, the image was placed on the right side of the altar.