Nossa Senhora Aparecida
by Zsolt Aradi
The Colossus of the South, Brazil, with a territory larger than that of the United States and with more than fifty million inhabitants, is one of the most self-confident and peaceful countries of the world. Its resources have been barely tapped; its giant river the Amazon flows calm and undisturbed across thousands of miles. Brazil had and has its own problems, but its future is secured. Its independence long achieved, the country has reason to be peaceful.
The foundations for its spiritual peace were laid by those great Portuguese sailors of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries during the period of Portuguese and Spanish imperial expansion. Brazil thus shares in the spiritual patrimony of the Iberian Peninsula--a heritage distinguished by great courage, profound faith and a readiness to self-sacrifice. When Portugal lost its empire, it lost Brazil too but the cultural link between the two nations was never broken. At the heart of this common spiritual bond is the Catholic faith and with it the great devotion to the Holy Virgin.
The missionaries who brought Christianity to Brazil faced serious problems. The aborigines of this territory were primitives, largely cannibals; the land was covered with impenetrable jungles, the climate tropical, living conditions hard. But when we regard the present we find a prosperous nation in which no racial discrimination exists and which is heading towards a splendid future. Though the lack of priests poses the same problem as in other Latin American countries, the key to the constant development of the country lies largely in the fact that the Brazilians have drawn on their spiritual resources. (Pic of Statue of Nossa Senhora Aparecida, Patroness of Brazil)
It is understandable therefore that Brazil venerates the Holy Virgin as deeply as any other South American nation. She is its patroness and her image is cherished in the hearts of its sons as well as on the altars of its churches. The Patroness of Brazil, Nossa Senhora de Aparecida, is enshrined in the Basilica of Apparecida three miles from the city of Guaratingueta close to the city of Sao Paulo.
In 1717 a group of Brazilian fishermen, out on their usual fishing trip, decided to return home because they were having a run of extremely bad luck. However, when they started to pull up the nets they felt a sudden weight. Before the eyes of the startled fishermen a headless wooden statue of Our Lady appeared from the depths of the sea. When they launched their draw-net deeper the head of the statue came up, too. The extraordinary occurrence was followed by a catch more abundant than ever before.
The statue was considered as a sign of grace, and the fishermen, with the consent of ecclesiastical authorities, set up a chapel and enshrined the statue. In the course of the subsequent two hundred years this little shrine grew into Brazil's major sanctuary. The present church, built between 1846 and 1888, was declared a Basilica in 1929, the same year the Brazilian nation declared Nossa Senhora Aparecida the Patroness of Brazil.
At least five hundred thousand pilgrims flock yearly to this sanctuary and the crowd includes all the races of Brazil, whose population is almost forty percent Mestizo, Negro and Indian--all united in their dedication to the Virgin.
The discovery of the statue and the circumstances connected with the abundant catch seem to indicate to the Brazilians that their wealth, both spiritual and material, gives them serious responsibilities, for both come from God. The Brazilian nation by making Nossa Senhora de Aparecida its Patroness gave a sign that it understood this divine message.
This item 3182 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org
