Pilgrimage In Brazil: Our Lady of Aparecida

This month, Pope Benedict XVI will journey to Brazil, a county of 134 million Catholics representing 83.5% of the population.

Part of Pope Benedict’s visit will include a pilgrimage to the town of Aparecida which lies in the province of Sao Paolo. It is known as the most important Marian shrine in the country, the point onto which pilgrims from all over the world converge. Our Lady of Aparecida is the patron saint of Brazil.

A pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. It is a journey to a sacred place or shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. It is a sacred journey, especially one undertaken as a to pay homage. It all began in 1717 when three fishermen, Domingos Garcia, Filipe Pedroso and João Alves were sent out by the local authorities to find fish in the Paraiba River. They went down the river and found nothing. After many unsuccessful attempts they arrived at a place called Porto Itaguaçu.

João Alves threw his net into the water and brought back a statue of Our Lady of Conception, but the head was missing. He threw his net in again and soon reeled in the head of the statue. After that, according to the legend, the fish arrived in abundance for the three humble fishermen and their nets were full. Thus began their pilgrimage of faith. This sacred location became a place to revisit and recall our stories and experience of faith. For some, a pilgrim’s destination becomes a place to remember the faithfulness of others.

Some of the most important pilgrim destinations include, Jerusalem, site of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, Rome, site of the deaths of Saints Peter and Paul and other early martyrs as well as the headquarters of our Catholic Church. Many pilgrims travel to Constantinople, present day Istanbul, Turkey and former capital of the Byzantine Empire and see of the ancient Patriarchs. Lourdes in France is certainly a popular pilgrim destination where apparitions of the Virgin Mary appeared and the Way of St. James in Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Aparecida remained an unassuming village with a small community of Redemptionists. They arrived from the Province of Munich in Germany and took on the responsibility for the shrine, making it the first Redemptionist parish in Latin America.

Construction of the shrine began in 1737 by the Redemptorists, and was dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and our Holy Mother, patron Saint of mothers-to-be and the new-born, rivers and the sea, gold, honey and beauty. It is now the second most visited Marian shrine in the world! Aparecida is also the second largest Basilica in the world, after St. Peter’s in Rome. It can hold up to 45,000 worshippers!

During his life in Nazareth, Jesus honored the Virgin Mary and Joseph when he learned how to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Lead us Lord to be aware of the importance of pilgrimage for faithful Catholics everywhere. Lead us to understand that we too have to "attend to our Father's business," Luke 2:41-52.