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| Our Lady of Aparecida (Public Domain) |
The very first major stop that Pope Francis made during his current trip to Latin America was to the Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
There he warned Catholics against the "ephemeral idols" of "money, power and pleasure." Jenny Barchfield of the Associated
Press reports that he also "stood in silent prayer in front of the 15-inch-tall image of the Virgin of Aparecida, the 'Black Mary,' his eyes tearing up as he breathed heavily." Barchfield goes on to say that "like many Catholics in Latin America," the Pope "places great
importance in devotion to Mary."
Wikipedia explains that this 18th-century clay
statue of Mary was originally "caught" by three fisherman who had prayed to Our Lady for a good catch. On that miraculous day back in October 1717, they first netted the statue's body, then its head, and finally an unusually-heavy load of fish.
This "Black Madonna" statue was originally named "Our Lady of the Appeared Conception" and quickly began being venerated by the local population. Afro-Brazilians particularly related to the statue – not only because of its dark brown coloring, but also because "one of the first miracles attributed to the image was
reportedly performed to an enslaved young man."
October 12th has been celebrated as the Feast Day
of Our Lady of Aparecida since the 1800s. That day
coincides with the 1822 founding of the Empire of Brazil, and is also known as "Children's
Day." It has been a Brazilian national holiday since 1980.
Resources
http://news.msn.com/world/pope-beware-the-lures-of-money-power-and-pleasure?ocid=ansnews11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Aparecida
Coopyright July 25, 2013 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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