Since she was very young, the Blessed Mother told Maria Esperanza that she would give her a land in the central northern part of Venezuela. It would be a place of shelter for her children, and a site where she would appear in times of tribulation offering her message of peace and reconciliation to the world. Therefore, Mrs. Maria Esperanza together with her husband, Mr. Geo Bianchini acquired Finca Betania in 1974. The farm is located 12 Km. from Cua, following the road that leads to San Casimiro, Edo. Miranda.

Our Lady appeared to Mrs. Maria Esperanza for the first time on March 25, in 1976. More apparitions took place for her and for some people very close to her, generally the same date or during other Marian Feasts. Everything changed radically on March 25, in 1984 when the Virgin appeared to 108 people. This group as well as other people, who saw the Virgin at different moments, gave their affidavits to the former Bishop of Los Teques, Monsignor Pio Bello Ricardo (+). He then began an investigation that lasted three years that concluded with the approval of the apparitions. This Ecclesiastic approval was the fourth the Church granted in the twentieth century, and it states that these apparitions are authentic and of supernatural character.

Since the first apparition Finca Betania has been a site for pilgrimage, and a place to worship God and venerate his Blessed Mother. After the Ecclesiastic approval of the apparitions several constructions have been built in the place. At the present time there is a beautiful chapel, the grotto where the Blessed Mother appeared, a great square, green areas that invite one to meditation and to prayer, a picnic area (however, food is not for sale), several pathways and hundreds of plaques covering some walls that have been offered to the Virgin in thanksgiving for the numerous miracles received through her intercession.

As all Venezuela has learned, Mrs. Maria Esperanza left this world last August 7. She suffered a long convalescence due to an illness with symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease that withered her motor functions. Nevertheless, her departure has given a new impulse to the mission she held in her lifetime. Currently her husband, children and grandchildren following the example she bequeathed, continue her task of evangelization. On November, 2004 and last February all the family was invited to different cities in the United States to give their testimonies on the apparitions of the Virgin and on Mrs. Maria Esperanza's life. Likewise, they have gone to different places in Venezuela with the Betania Choir offering their testimonies and their music, that was founded in 1981 and counts from its beginning with Prof. Maria Auxiliadora Bianchini de Leon's conduction, one of Mrs. Maria Esperanza's daughters.

Next Good Friday, 29 years of the first apparition will be celebrated, and it will be the first anniversary that is celebrated without the physical presence of Mrs. Maria Esperanza. However, Our Lady is always waiting for the faithful to come to this holy place for she continues offering peace and healing to the souls that humbly ask for her intercession. The Virgin always announced to Mrs. Maria Esperanza the great plans God has for Finca Betania: A place of prayer, of meditation and of reconciliation among brothers. Today these plans are coming true. Many more wonderful events and happenings are promised for this Land of Grace, in Venezuela.