Our Lady of Aparecida

Our Lady of Aparecida
Our Lady of Aparecida appeared to fishermen Domingos Garcia, Filipe Pedroso and João Alves in October 1717[1]
Patroness of Brazil
Honored in	Catholic Church
Major shrine	Aparecida, São Paulo
Feast	12 October[1]
Attributes	Black woman wearing a blue tunic and a golden crown[1]
Patronage	Brazil,[1] mothers-to-be and the newborn, rivers and the sea, gold, honey and beauty[2]

Our Lady of Aparecida (Portuguese: Nossa Senhora Aparecida or Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida) is the patron saint of Brazil, venerated in the Catholic Church.^[1] A dark-skinned Marian image, Our Lady of Aparecida is represented by a short, clay statue of the Virgin Mary, currently housed in the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, in the town of Aparecida, São Paulo. Her feast day is celebrated on October 12, which has been observed as a public holiday since Pope John Paul II consecrated the Basilica in 1980. The Basilica is the fourth most popular Marian shrine in the world,^[3] being able to hold up to 45,000 worshippers.^[2]

History

Apparition

The official account of the Aparecida apparition took place in October 1717, when Dom Pedro de Almeida, Count of Assumar and Governor of the Province of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, was passing through the area of Guaratinguetá, a small city in the Paraíba river valley,^[1][4] during a trip to Vila Rica, an important gold mining site.

The people of Guaratinguetá decided to hold a feast in his honour, and though it was not fishing season, the fishermen went down to the Paraíba waters to fish for the feast.^[1][4] Three of the fishermen, Domingos Garcia, João Alves, and Filipe Pedroso, prayed to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, and asked God's help.^[1][4] They were unable to catch any fish, and after several hours in the river, they were ready to give up when João cast his net once more near the Port of Itaguaçu.^[1][4] Instead of fish, he hauled in the body of a statue with a missing head.^[1][4] They cast their net again, and brought up the statue's head.^[1][4] After cleaning the statue, they found that it was a black version of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.^[1] Legend has it that when the fishermen recovered the body, then the head, the slender figure of the Aparecida Virgin became so heavy that they couldn't budge it.^[2]

After that, according to the official account, they named their find Nossa Senhora da Aparecida Conceição (English: Our Lady of the Appeared Conception), wrapped it in cloth and continued to fish; now their catch was so great that they returned to port because the weight of the fish threatened to sink their craft.^[5] This was the first miracle attributed to Our Lady of Aparecida.^[4]

A series of articles on Roman Catholic Mariology
General articles Overview of Mariology • Veneration of the Blessed Virgin • History of Mariology
Expressions of devotion Art • Hymns • Music • Architecture
Specific articles Apparitions • Saints • Popes • Societies • Hearts of Jesus & Mary • Consecration to Mary

The statue

While it is not known why the statue was at the bottom of the river, it is known who made it.^[1] According to most sources, the statue had been sculpted by Frei Agostino de Jesus, a monk from São Paulo known for his artistic skills in making sacred images.^[1] The three foot tall^[3][6] image was made around 1650, and must have been underwater for years, once it lost its original polychromy.^[1]

The image has a dark brown color, as it was sculpted in clay (resulting in many of its replicas being painted black), and it is covered by a stiff dark blue robe of richly embroidered thick cloth with golden clasps, and wears an imperial crown which was added in 1904.^[1] Only her face and hands can be seen.^[1]

Patroness of Brazil

Devotion to the statue grew rapidly, particularly among Afro-Brazilians, not only for its black Madonna status, but also because one of the first miracles attributed to the image was reportedly performed to an enslaved young man. Over the years following its apparition, veneration of the Virgin invoked as Aparecida increased as many miracles were attributed to her.^[2] For the following fifteen years, the statue remained within Filipe Pedroso's family and neighbors came to venerate it. Stories of Our Lady of Aparecida's miracles were spread throughout Brazil and the Pedroso family built her a chapel which soon became too small for so many worshippers. In 1737, the priest of Guaratinguetá built her a chapel^[2] on the Coqueiros hill, and public visits began in July 1745. The number of worshippers increased dramatically and in 1834 work on a larger church was begun; this became known as the "old Basilica" when work on the even larger "new Basilica" was started in 1955.^[2]

In 1904, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida was crowned by the archbishop of São Paulo, Dom Lino Deodato Rodrigues, at the decree of the Holy See and in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio. The Coronation was performed on behalf of Pope Pius X.^[2] The coronation was a major event, and the gold for the manufacture of the crown was donated by the exiled Princess Isabel, then the Head of Brazil's Imperial Family.

In 1908, the church received the title of Minor Basilica. Twenty years later, the village that had grown around the church on Coqueiros hill became a municipality, named after the saint.

In 1930, the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Aparecida, was proclaimed the "Queen and Principal Patroness of Brazil" by Pope Pius XII.,^[1][2] St. Peter of Alcantara retaining the position of patron, but now as co-patron.

Up until the 1950s, Aparecida remained an unassuming village with a small community of Redemptionists.^[2] They arrived from the sanctuary of the Virgin of Altötting in Germany and took on the responsibility for the shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, making it the first Redemptionist parish in Latin America.^[2]

Controversies

Our Lady of Aparecida has, more than once, been the source of religious conflicts among Catholics and Protestants. On May 16, 1978, a Protestant took the statue from its niche on the Basilica after the last Mass of the day. He was chased by guards and some of the church goers.^[7] As he was caught, the statue fell to the ground breaking to pieces.^[7] Because the statue was made of clay that had been submersed in water for a long time, it was difficult to put the pieces back together, but a group of dedicated artists and artisans carefully pieced it together again.^[1][7]

On her feast day in 1995, a public holiday, an incident later known as "kicking of the saint" took place when televangelist bishop Sérgio Von Helde, of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), kicked a replica of Our Lady Aparecida on a late-night religious program broadcast by Rede Record, which is owned by the UCKG.^[8][9] On the following day, Rede Globo's Jornal Nacional denounced the incident, causing a nationwide commotion. The event was perceived by Catholics as a major act of religious intolerance, causing a public outcry. Several temples of the UCKG were targeted by protesters, and Von Helde was transferred to South Africa until the end of the controversy.^[3][10]

The New Basilica

The National Basilica, located in Aparecida, São Paulo, Brazil

In the mid-20th century, as the popularity of Our Lady of Aparecida grew, the construction of a much larger building to shelter the image became necessary. In 1955, work on the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida was begun.^[2] Architect Benedito Calixto designed a building in the form of a Greek cross, 173 meters long and 168 meters wide; the tower is 100 meter high, the naves have 40 meters and the dome is 70 meters high, covering a surface area of around 18,000 square meters.^[2] It can hold up to 45,000 people.^[2] The 272,000 square meters of parking hold 4,000 buses and 6,000 cars.

It is currently the largest Marian temple and the second largest Basilica in the world, losing only to St. Peter's in the Vatican City.^[2][3] On July 4, 1980, while still under construction, it was consecrated by Pope John Paul II and given the title of Minor Basilica.^[2][3] As the patroness of Brazil, one of the functions of the Basilica is to work as a site of pilgrimage for laborers, which takes place each year on Brazil's independence holiday, September 7.^[2] According to recent estimates, the Basilica attracts about 8 million pilgrims a year.^[3][11]

The influence of the cult of Our Lady Aparecida on Brazilian Catholic society is incalculable. In 1992 a study showed that 296 parishes were dedicated to her while five cathedrals had the same title. In addition, many towns are named after the Virgin and so are many Brazilian women and girls. The modern art styled cathedral of Brasilia designed by Oscar Niemeyer is dedicated to Nossa Senhora Aparecida, as Brasilia is the national capital and she is invoked as Brazil's special protector.

In 2004, to commemorate the centennial of the pontifical coronation commanded by Pope Pius X, and the 150th anniversary of the dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida was crowned afresh. The coronation was presided by the then Archbishop emeritus of Rio de Janeiro, Cardinal Eugênio Sales, in the capacity of special papal envoy of Pope John Paul II.

During a visit to the new Basilica in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI granted the shrine a Golden Rose.

In other countries

United Kingdom

A representation of Our Lady Aparecida is to be found outside the Roman Catholic church and shrine of Our Lady of Willesden, Nicoll Road, London NW10 (on the wall between the entrance to the presbytery and that to the church).^[12]

United States

Annually, a mass in honor of the patroness of Brazil is celebrated in October for the Brazilian Catholic community of New York.

Additionally, the Northern VA Brazilian Community holds a mass in honor of Nossa Senhora Aparecida every year. Details can be found on the following wesbite: www.fontecatolica.org

Portugal

Brazilian Catholics probably inherited their devotion of Mary from Portugal, which has a famous shrine for her in Fatima, where she is said to have appeared personally to three shepherds children numerous times with special messages and warnings. The patron saint of Portugal (as well as of the Church of England) was Saint George until 1640 when, one week after (re)gaining independence from Spain, the King D. Joao IV, dedicated Portugal to Our Lady of Conception by giving his crown to Our Lady. Since that date, Portuguese kings and queens never wore a crown again.

Cultural references

The telenovela A Padroeira, broadcast on Rede Globo between June 18, 2001 and February 23, 2002, was a fictional portrayal of the founding of the Our Lady of Aparecida statue,^[3] loosely based on the 1865 novel As Minas de Prata by José de Alencar, which itself had been adapted for the telenovela format in 1966 by the now defunct TV Excelsior.

See also

• Marian apparitions
• Black Madonna
• Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s} Our Lady of Aparecida profile at Patron Saints Index.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p} Our Lady of Aparecida profile at the Mary of Nazareth Project.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Allen, John. "A look ahead to Benedict in Brazil". National Catholic Reporter. May 3, 2007
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Our Lady of Aparecida profile at Mary Pages
5. ^ Our Lady of Aparecida profile at Catholic Media.
6. ^ de Vries, Lloyd. "Pope Canonizes First Brazilian Saint". CBS News. May 11, 2007.
7. ^ ^{a b c} Oliveira, Plinio Corrêa. "Feast Days of Our Lady: Our Lady Aparecida – October 12". Tradition in Action, Inc.
8. ^ Epstein, Jack (1995-11-24). "Kicking of icon outrages Brazil Catholics". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved on January 6, 2009.
9. ^ Video of Von Helde kicking the saint, hosted at CNN.
10. ^ "Church makes airwaves". BBC. 2000-08-03. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
11. ^ Lugo, Luis. "Pope to Visit 'Pentecostalized' Brazil". Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. April 19, 2007.
12. ^ Our Lady Aparecida in Willesden, London, UK.

External links

• (Portuguese) Official website of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida

Persondata
Name	Aparecida, Our Lady Of
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