South America, Our Lady in the New World
by Zsolt Aradi
The Spanish and Portuguese settlers brought with them their traditions and priests. The missionaries found themselves faced with the almost insurmountable problem of caring for vast masses of Indians and Mestizos and, in certain parts of Latin America, Negroes. These peoples frequently lived in isolated areas, and therefore it is not surprising that their own native customs colored their practice of Christianity. Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that these customs were pagan and the natives had only sporadic contact with the priests, the faith of these people remained alive. There is no doubt that the veneration of the Virgin was and is the most important single factor vitalizing and maintaining this faith. Wherever we look, from the Tierra Del Fuego through Brazil up to Central America, we encounter as nowhere else on earth this filial, childlike devotion to a protectress. The people needed a protectress, and turned to the Virgin with their overflowing tenderness and love.
Today, although the Christian faith has reached into the smallest village in the remote jungle areas of Latin America, priestly vocations still have not kept pace with the rapid increase of the population. Latin America now has a population of over one hundred million inhabitants. This explains why still today age-old native customs mix with religious devotion. These peoples, who could not build cathedrals, nevertheless brought those gifts, which they possessed: a colorful folklore, their dramatic sense of life, and with these, their joys and sorrows.
Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to characterize all Latin American devotion in this manner. The shrines created by the early Spaniards and Portuguese, and later by their descendants, are monumental. There are pilgrim places which equal Lourdes, Fatima or any other sanctuary of Our Lady. There are thousands of shrines of Our Lady in Latin America.
The Latin and Indian together created the most "ecstatic" form of devotion throughout Latin America. The name of Our Lady, her image in a thousand different forms,' is to be seen on flags, little shrines, in private homes, printed on millions of holy images. Everyone wants her to be present in his daily life; universities, colleges, business enterprises, mountains, cities, streets, regiments, military orders, are named after her. It is easy to call parts of this devotion superstitious because of some customs whose origins go back to a time preceding the discovery of the continent. Superstition, however, has always-sinister connotations. Some forms of the devotion might seem strange to the Western mind, but the intentions behind these forms are pure, the faith is the same faith as ours; its lack of skepticism is a blessing. We are not justified in criticizing; their prayers, their bottomless confidence, their sometimes passionate and total surrender to God through Mary commands respect.
This item 3183 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org
