Our Lady of Aparecida

The story of Our Lady of Aparecida begins in October 1717, when fishermen in the Paraíba Valley — Domingos Garcia Durate, João Alves, and Filipe Pedroso — cast their nets in the Paraíba do Sul River after a fruitless night.

First the body of a terracotta image emerged from the riverbed, dark and headless. When they hauled the nets again, they found the missing head. They joined the pieces and, according to tradition, the nets filled with fish.

The image, about 36 centimeters tall, depicts the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus on her left arm, in the Baroque style of the period. She was called 'Aparecida' — 'the one who appeared' — because she emerged from the waters.

Initially venerated in Filipe Pedroso's home in Porto Itaguaçu, devotion spread quickly through the region. A first chapel was built in 1734; in 1745 the bishop of São Paulo declared her patroness of the area.

The National Shrine of Aparecida, inaugurated in 1980, is Brazil's largest Catholic church and the second largest in the world by capacity. It receives millions of pilgrims yearly, especially on October 12.

In 1930 Pope Pius XI proclaimed Our Lady of Aparecida principal patroness of Brazil. Her feast on October 12 is a national holiday and a day of deep celebration of Brazilian faith.