Thanks to this visit, Our Lady is creating a special prayer bridge between Poland and Brazil, which are currently on the front lines of the battle to protect life. On April 1 of this year, the Icon of Częstochowa, travelling around the world in defence of the civilization of life and love, arrived at the national Marian sanctuary of Nossa Senhora de Conceição Aparecida – Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Appeared in the town of Aparecida in Brazil.
The Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, brought to the great basilica in Aparecida, was placed next to the main altar in the centrally located presbytery, where the statue of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is venerated. She was welcomed by the Redemptorists Fathers. who take care of this unique sanctuary, and the faithful, who are never lacking there.
The Holy Mass was presided over by Bishop Zdzisław Stanisław Błaszczyk, auxiliary bishop of Rio de Janeiro, who has currently taken over the function of coordinator of the pilgrimage of Our Lady "From Ocean to Ocean" in Brazil. He also delivered a sermon, during which he explained to the fascinated faithful the message of the Czestochowa Icon as a Guide and the intention of the pilgrimage "From Ocean to Ocean". At the end of the Holy Mass, the Act of Entrusting the Protection of the Civilization of Life and Love to the Hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary was renewed.
It was a moving moment not only of meeting two famous images of Mary, but also of touching the deep faith of Brazilians, which is concentrated in this national sanctuary. Aparecida is called the Marian capital of Brazil, just as Częstochowa is the spiritual capital of Poland. It is the second largest, after Guadalupe, sanctuary of Our Lady in the world.
The 39 cm tall statue of Our Lady of Aparecida dates back to 1650 and was made of terracotta by a Benedictine monk, Brother Augustine of Jesus. It has now become very black due to its long stay in the water. It can therefore be said that two images of the Black Madonna have met again.
Its history is astonishing - on October 12, 1717 three fishermen fished out of the river by net headless figure but after the second, a perfectly matching head was also found. It was only after the third throwing of the net that they caught a lot of fish, which they considered a miracle, because it was not the right time for fishing.
Initially, a family of poor fishermen placed the statue in a small chapel, to which more and more people gathered. There is an old story of a captured slave who escaped from a nearby farm. At his request, he was allowed to pray before the statue of Mary – his chains broke and fell off. Mary freed him.
In 1734, construction began on a chapel, and a hundred years later on a larger church. She was decorated with papal crowns in 1904, and on July 16, 1930, Brazil was solemnly consecrated to Our Lady of Aparecida and declared Patroness of the country.
Since 1893, the sanctuary has been under the care of the Redemptorist Fathers.
The number of people increased so much that a much larger church was needed. In 1955, construction began on a new, enormous basilica, which, with a 100-meter-high tower, has a total of 18 floors. The dome is 70 meters high, and the nave is in the shape of a cross with an altar in the center. It can accommodate 45,000 believers! Both its size and the crowds of visiting pilgrims classify it as the largest Marian basilica in the world, second only to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
The Czestochowa Icon was placed in the centrally located presbytery of this large cross basilica next to the altar, it was brilliantly lit, easily visible and aroused admiration.
We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to participate in the Holy Mass in Aparecida during the visit of the Częstochowa Icon, to feel the spiritual bond with Brazil. Of course, in Portuguese. We invite you to watch the video shared by the sanctuary on YouTube HERE