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September 26, 2024By Rafael Longhini
seminarian, Diocese of Worcester
On Sept. 14, at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., about 7,000 people from more than 50 Brazilian communities celebrated the enthronement of the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida, Brazil’s patroness.
The devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida began in Brazil in 1717, when three fishermen pulled a statue of the Blessed Mother from the water, followed by a miraculous fish catch. The veneration of the image spread among Brazilians, and she was declared the patron saint of Brazil in 1930.
The original statue is located at the Basilica of Our Lady Aparecida in the city of Aparecida, State of Sao Paulo, in Brazil. The National Basilica of Aparecida is the second-largest Catholic Church worldwide, after St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
At the event in Washington, D.C., various activities marked the enthronement of the statue of Our Lady Aparecida. In the morning, Bishop Cristiano Barbosa, a Brazilian and an auxiliary bishop of Boston, led a rosary and meditations in honor of Our Lady.
When I interviewed Bishop Barbosa for the Vatican News Portuguese (PT), I asked him what message he had for the Brazilian people who came to celebrate this beautiful moment.
On Sept. 14, about 7,000 people from more than 50 Brazilian communities celebrated the enthronement of the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida.
Bishop Barbosa said: “Everyone is welcome. Our church has learned its vocation to be a mother, and a welcoming one. The Brazilian community bringing Our Lady of Aparecida to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception also shows that the Catholic Church here, with its deep desire to promote and integrate Brazilians, is a place of belonging. With the enthronement of the image of Our Lady of Aparecida, this also becomes a place of pilgrimage for the Brazilian people. It is impossible not to be moved to see the Basilica with the aisles packed with people and to know that Mother Aparecida is here to stay.”
After the rosary, Deacon Emanuel Maria from the Institute Hesed in Brazil, talked about the importance of Mary as our Mother and as an example of holiness.
In the afternoon, Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, retired archbishop of Boston, presided over the Solemn Mass and blessed the new Oratory of Our Lady of Aparecida, situated on the right side of the Basilica, as one enters the church from the front.
“I am so happy,” Cardinal O’Malley said. “A few years ago, the Brazilians began
Worcester diocesan seminarian, Rafael Longhini interviews Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C., for Vatican News.
discussing the possibility of bringing the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida to the National Shrine in D.C. At the same time, I was in Brazil to preach at the retreat of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, and they presented me with this statue.”
At this moment, the cardinal pointed to the image in the oratory and smiled.
“Now that I know this statue will remain here in the Basilica, it is a great joy for me, knowing the number of Brazilians in the U.S.” He emphasized that there is a large population of Brazilians in Massachusetts.
“I am very grateful to Bishop Edgar da Cunha, [a Brazilian who is bishop of Fall River], who organized this pilgrimage,” Cardinal O’Malley continued. “It is a sign of the living faith of ‘our’ Brazilian people.” After the interview, he gave a blessing, asking for the intercession of Our Lady Aparecida.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of Washington; Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio; seven bishops, and more than sixty priests conceleb
Father Adriano Lessa, associate pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Milford, left, and Father Thiago Ibiapina, associate pastor of St. John, Guardian of Our Lady Parish in Clinton, right, represented the Worcester Diocese with some of their parishioners.
rated the Mass.
Brazilians Father Adriano Lessa, associate pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Milford, and Father Thiago Ibiapina, associate pastor of St. John, Guardian of Our Lady Parish in Clinton, represented the Worcester Diocese with some of their parishioners.
Father Ibiapina emphasized Mary’s role in the lives of the Brazilian people gathered in the Basilica.
He said, “Mary, despite all the reverence and veneration we give to her as the Mother of God, one of the things that can never be separated from her is that she is a mother – a poor woman who was chosen by God, but [she] is, and will always be, a mother.”
The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil sent to the celebration Archbishop Luiz Fernando Lisboa, a native of Brazil who is chairman of a committee that oversees Catholic Brazilians who live abroad. He said that Our Lady brought so many Brazilians together that day.
“There are currently about two million Brazilians in the United States,” he sa
Rosangela Maria from Clinton is pictured at the basilica.id. “The Church in Brazil and the National Conference of Bishops are praying for all the families here. May God bless everyone who lives here, and may Our Lady open the paths for those seeking a new life.”
“This is an extraordinary day, in which, for the first time, the Statue of Our Lady Aparecida is enthroned in the Basilica, and, with this pilgrimage, we hope for great future pilgrimages of our Brazilian communities to honor Mary,” said Bishop da Cunha.
The Worcester diocese has four Brazilian communities: at Saint Joseph and St. Stephen Parish in Worcester; St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Milford; St. Anna Parish in Leominster; and St. John, Guardian of Our Lady Parish in Clinton.
Our Lady of Aparecida is celebrated on October 12. The Clinton community will hold a Triduum of Masses Oct. 9-11 at 7:30 p.m. in preparation for her feast day. On Oct. 12, a Solemn Mass will be followed by a procession.
