Our Lady of Aparecida

Details: 23 August 2013

The largest Marian shrine in the world is dedicated to Our Lady of Aparecida, located 170 miles west of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Most of the pilgrims from our diocese had the privilege of visiting this impressive shrine during our recent World Youth Day pilgrimage. Our group spent five hours at this incredible place of devotion that is little known to those outside of South America.

The image of Our Lady of Aparecida is in the traditional form of the Immaculate Conception. The original statue, which stands just over 2 feet tall, is a Black Madonna that was found in 1717 by three Brazilian fishermen who had prayed to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception for a good catch of fish. After having a run of bad luck, they cast their nets once more into the Paraiba River and dragged up a headless statue of the Virgin Mary. After recovering the head and reattaching it, they reportedly enjoyed the great catch of fish for which they had prayed, the first of many miracles attributed to the intercession of Our Lady under this new title.

The statue is unique, with Mary donning a very colorful garment not unlike that of the Infant of Prague, with just her face and hands showing. The first chapel in her honor was built in 1745, with another larger church built in 1834. The present basilica was built in 1955 and can hold up to 45,000 worshippers. It is truly a grand church, with many small chapels devoted to various needs, including a devotional Chapel of Candles, a Eucharistic chapel and several chapels used for Masses celebrated by pilgrims. We had the honor of having Mass in one of them during our brief visit.

In 1930, Pope Pius XI declared Our Lady of Aparecida the "Queen and Primary Patroness of Brazil." St. Peter of Alcantara retains his position as the co-patron of Brazil. The town where the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida is located was eventually named after the shrine. It continues to be an important place of pilgrimage and devotion, especially for Catholics from South America. Pope Francis had a special Mass and some visits with dignitaries at Aparecida just before launching World Youth Day activities in Rio de Janeiro July 25.

An important document on evangelization, simply known as "The Aparecida Document," was the fruit of the Fifth General Conference of Latin American and Caribbean Bishops held in 2007. Cardinal Bergoglio, then archbishop of Buenos Aires and now our pope, was the primary editor. That gathering of bishops sought to set a course of action for Catholic South Americans in response to a document produced earlier by Blessed John Paul II that served as a summary of the Synod on Evangelization for the Americas (which included the U.S.). Keep watch as our own diocese begins to study and promote ideas that originally were the fruit of these important meetings.

The Church is missionary by nature. All baptized Christians are called to be missionary disciples. May we all live up to this dignified calling as Mary, our mother and model, did so well. And may we respond to the encouragement of Pope Francis to live out our faith as authentic followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And may we not be afraid to proclaim, defend and share the precious gift of faith we have received as a gift in our every word and action.