“She was very religious, very sincere,” said Adriana Palma, a friend since childhood.

The vigil was being held under the rubble of the bell tower. With the church closed, the only place for the memorial was outside, Ms. Palma said.

That night, the damage of the church seemed to weigh on people at the vigil almost as much as the deaths in Montecristi.

The cross at the top of the bell tower used to be the first thing people would see when they approached the town from the road, said Ms. Palma’s mother. Even sailors could spot the white church against the mountains when they came from sea.

“It is the pride of this town,” said Fabricio Quijije, a neighbor.

Times like these were precisely when Montecristi would turn to Our Mother of Monserrate for solace and guidance.

According to local legend, the statue was sent to South America by King Charles V of Spain, as part of a pair with a statue called the Virgin of Mercy. The king intended the second statute to remain in Ecuador, while Monserrate was supposed to make its way to the viceroy in Lima.