According to the popular Puerto Rican legend, on the night of April 30, 1797, the townswomen, led by a bishop, formed a rogativa (prayer procession) and marched throughout the streets of the city singing hymns and carrying torches while at the same time praying for the deliverance of the city. Outside the walls, the invaders mistook the torch-lit movement for the arrival of Spanish reinforcements. When morning came, the enemy was gone from the island and the city was saved from a possible invasion.