Antoni BigCuore Casagrande*
Edited: 12/12/2020, Monday, at 11:14 am
Location: SP., SP.
Today, the day of Our Lady of Aparecida, Patroness of Brazil, I offer my readers with the text below, which is not my own, but I think it is of great interest to Catholic Christians and people of good will. I share with you! In Aparecida, State of São Paulo, is the LARGEST MARIAN SHRINE IN THE WORLD !!!
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Our Lady of Aparecida [1]
In Brazil, state of São Paulo, there is the city of Aparecida do Norte. Above all, it is known as the main national Marian sanctuary to which pilgrims from all over the country converge, towards the Basilica of the Immaculate Virgin, Nossa Senhora de Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil.
Why the name of Our Lady “Aparecida” for the Immaculate Conception?
It all started in the 18th century, when some fishermen, accustomed to casting their nets in the Paraíba River, near São Paulo, one day in the year 1717, caught a headless statue in the middle of their fishing ... When they cast their nets again , they remove the head of the statue: it seemed then that it was a Black Virgin ... Legend has it that when the fishermen fished the body and then the head, the fragile silhouette of the Virgin Aparecida became extremely heavy. They couldn't get her anywhere.
After that, in the Brazilian religious tradition, the Virgin Aparecida, under the word of her Immaculate Conception, is the Holy Mother, patron of pregnant women and newborns, of rivers and the sea, of gold, honey, beauty and of seduction. Over the years, devotion to the immaculate Virgin “appeared” has increased and numerous graces have been obtained. In 1737, the vicar of Guaratinguetá had a chapel built for the faithful.
A gigantic Basilica for the Patron Saint of Brazil
In 1834 the construction of a larger church began, which became the "old Basilica" when, in 1955, the works of the gigantic "new Basilica" were undertaken, by decree of the Vatican, in 1884, on the occasion of the first 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Aparecida was crowned by the Archbishop of São Paulo, in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio. On July 16, 1930, the nation's new tribute to Our Lady of Aparecida, which was then solemnly proclaimed the patron saint of Brazil, in the presence of all the civil and religious authorities of the country. On that day, Cardinal Leme, Archbishop of Rio de January, pronounced Brazil's consecration to the Holy Virgin Aparecida.
However, until around 1950, Aparecida remains a modest hamlet where the Redemptorist religious settled. They arrived there in 1893, coming from the Province of Munich in Germany and accepted the responsibility of the sanctuary of Nossa Senhora de Aparecida, making it the first Redemptorist parish in Latin America. It is in the middle of the 20th century, in 1955, that the current - and immense - new Basilica is built.
The second most frequented Marian sanctuary in the world!
Gigantic, Our Lady of Aparecida is, in fact, with its tower 100 meters high, the dome 70 m, the nave in the form of a Greek cross 173 m long by 168 m wide, making up a total surface 18,000 square meters! Its capacity allows to welcome ... 45000 faithful! Due to its proportions, Nossa Senhora de Aparecida is the second largest basilica in the world, after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome! In 1980, Pope John Paul II granted him the title of "Minor Basilica". Having become the patron saint of Brazil, Nossa Senhora de Aparecida is among other things the place of pilgrimage of workers that takes place every year in the September 7, the day of the national festival.
Nossa Senhora de Aparecida is also the second most visited Marian sanctuary in the world!
(*) author is writer in Brazil, São Paulo,SP. Acess his link: www.recantodasletras.com.br/autores/antonibigcuore (Self-knowledge, Spirituality and Balance Life) and his Blog Bem Viver Brazil - antonibigcuore.blogspot.com - Brazil, São Paulo,S.P.
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