AMERICA/BRAZIL - Aparecida and its Shrine - Brief Overview

Aparecida (Agenzia Fides) – In 1717, the governor of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais, Don Pedro de Almeida e Portugal, Count of Assumar, was passing through Guaratinguetá and was on his way to the city of Villa Rica. For this reason, the locals, trying to be good hosts for their guest, asked the three fishermen, Domingos Garcia, Filipe Pedroso, and João Alves, to search for some good fish. The fishermen cast their nets into the waters of the Paraiba River, when suddenly, lifting out one of the nets, they found a broken clay image of the Immaculate Conception, 36 centimeters tall. After their finding, the fishing, which until then had been poor, became so abundant that they had to return to the coast from all the weight they had in their small boats. One of the fishermen took the holy image home with him, where he built it a small altar. A few years later, a chapel was erected and it became the site most visited by the villagers. On May 5, 1743 the construction of a temple began and it was opened for worship July 26, 1745, invoking the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Aparecida.
The Virgin is depicted with dark skin and wearing a heavy coat embroidered. Her hands are at her chest, in a position of prayer. She was solemnly crowned in 1904 by Bishop José de Camargo Barros, Bishop of Sao Paulo. On July 16, 1930, Pius XI declared Our Lady of Aparecida the Patroness of Brazil. On July 4, 1980, Pope John Paul II visited the Shrine and bestowed on it the title of Basilica.
Located in the Paraíba Valley, State of São Paulo, the city of Aparecida do Norte attracts millions of pilgrims. Throughout the year, the city receives about seven million people. The tourism and economic activities of the town revolve around the religious motif: there are more than 50 industries for direct religious activity, with faith motivations. Even the cultural events are many and varied: on October 12, National Day of Our Lady of Aparecida, there are theater performances, exhibitions, and craft courses. On this day, the city is visited by pilgrims, especially by the many devotees of Our Lady Aparecida. On this day alone, more than 200,000 pilgrims flock to the Shrine to attend a Mass celebrated in the Cathedral-Basilica, known as the “New Basilica” and the National Basilica of Aparecida, known as the "Old Basilica." In the National Shrine of the Madonna, there is also a medical clinic for pilgrims, a hall for baptisms, a reconciliation chapel, large dining room, a room for newborns, a museum, a hall, and a pilgrims' center. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 12/10/2010)