The Biggest Marian Shrine – Born Out of Faith

(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help on 26 October 2013)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ

Marian shrines at Lourdes, Fatima, Guadalupe, and so on have originated from Mary’s apparitions at those places. In her apparitions, Mary calls us back to our faith, to conversion and prayer. She asked for the shrines to be built so that we remember the messages. Do you know that the biggest Marian shrine in the world, was born not out of Mary’s apparitions and messages, but rather from the faith of the faithful? I would like to share with you the story of the shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Brazil.

In October 1717, when Brazil was still under Portugal rule, the Governor of the State of São Paulo was going to pass through Guaratinguetá, a small city in the Paraiba river valley (now called Aparecida). The people there decided to honour him with a feast. Although it was not the fishing season then, they went down to the Paraiba river to fish for the feast. Three fishermen, Domingos Garcia, Filipe Pedroso and João Alves prayed to God and invoked the intercession of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. After hours of fruitless fishing, they were going to give up. João decided to cast his net for the last time near the Port of Itaguagu. This time, he hauled in a statue’s headless body. A later cast of the net brought up the head of the statue. After cleaning up the statue, they saw that it was a black version of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. According to legend, the slender statue then became so heavy they could not move it. They named it Our Lady of the Conception Who Appeared from the Waters, or in short, Our Lady of Aparecida [which means who appeared]. They wrapped it in cloth and continued fishing. This time, their nets were full to the point of sinking their boats.

Felipe Pedroso brought home the statue and repaired it. Over the next 15 years, he and his family and friends venerated the statue with many rosaries, hymns and prayers before it. Friar Agostino de Jesus, an Augustinian monk famous for his sculptures, was known to have made the statue around 1650. Why it was at the bottom of the river, however, remains a mystery. Devotion grew around the statue with many miracles attributed to it. Later a local chapel was built; it was replaced by a large colonial basilica by 1888, receiving 150,000 pilgrims a year then (de Oliveira, n.d.). To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1904, the statue was crowned at the decree of the Holy See. Around 1930, Our Lady of Aparecida was proclaimed the Patroness of Brazil.  Her feast day is on 12 October. In 1955, they started building the new Basilica, which was consecrated in 1980 by Pope John Paul II.

Today, the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, Sao Paulo, which houses the statue, is the largest Marian shrine, and the third largest basilica in the world (Schaeffer, 2011). Receiving 8 million pilgrims a year, it is the fourth most visited Marian sanctuary in the world. William Thomas wrote in the Catholic Voice, an Irish Catholic newspaper:

‘Although there were no words spoken, nor apparition seen here, nevertheless, the extraordinary number of miracles which are recorded attest to the fact that Our Lady wanted this Shrine built in her honour.’

What can we learn from the history of Our Lady of Aparecida? A certain Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira noted that through the graces, Our Lady persuades the people, especially the simple and poor, to come to her in all their needs, thus stimulating the grace of prayer. The discovery of Our Lady in Brazil as the Immaculate Conception also prepared the Brazilian Catholics to believe in the dogma, which was proclaimed more than a century later.

From Pope Francis:

1)    Like the fishermen who found the Marian statue and then abundant fish, Christians need to be open to being surprised by God. He said, “…even in the midst of difficulties, God acts and he surprises us.” (Aparecida, July 24, 2013)

2)    In the mysterious discovery of Our Lady of Aparecida, the fishermen did not dismiss the incomplete mystery, but awaited its completion patiently. They got the answer not long after. Whenever we see pieces of the mystery, (I quote the Pope), “We are impatient, anxious to see the whole picture, but God lets us see things slowly, quietly. The Church also has to learn how to wait." (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 28, 2013)

In this Year of Faith, may the Aparecida story remind us that with faith all things are possible. We only have to be patient.

References

de Oliveira, P.C. (n.d.) Our Lady Aparecida – October 12. Retrieved 26 Oct 2013 from http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j227sd_OLAparecida_10-12.html.

Pope's Homily at National Shrine of Our Lady of Conception in Aparecida. (24 July 2013). Retrieved 26 Oct 2013 from http://www.zenit.org/.

Reflections From Francis for the Church in Brazil. (28 July 2013). Retrieved 26 Oct 2013 from http://www.zenit.org.

Schaeffer, F. (27 Oct 2011). Our Lady of Apericida. Retrieved 26 Oct 2013 from http://franciscan-sfo.org/FP2/FR2-580.html.