The first seven miracles of Our Lady of Aparecida. Queen and patron saint of Brazil
The appearance of the image of Our Lady
Brazil, captaincy of Minas Gerais, year 1717. Gold exploration was at its peak and conflicts between explorers were intense. In the meantime, there was a change of governors of the captaincy of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, being assumed now by Dom Pedro de Almeida and Portugal, also called Conde de Assumar . He left Portugal and, arriving in São Paulo, he soon made his way to the places of conflict. After a long 17-day journey, he arrived in Guaratinguetá on October 12th.
It was not a good time for fishing in the region, little or nothing could be caught in its rivers. But Guaratinguetá's Administrative Chamber issues a decree for fishermen to get as much fish as possible to serve at a banquet for their new governor. Among them were Domingos Martins Garcia, João Alves and Felipe Pedroso, each in his canoe. They cast their nets along the Paraíba River for most of the night and achieved nothing.
They then cry out in prayer to Our Lady for help. Then João Alves launches his net again and feels a weight pulling it. Would it be fish? No. It was a blackened image of a saint but without her head. He left it in the bottom of his canoe. Downstream the river throws the net again and pulls it back. The only thing that came up now was the blackened head of the saint , which fit perfectly around the image's neck. On such a long river, that fact alone would be a miracle. But it was just the beginning of a great story in the nation of Brazil! The image found in the river was forty centimeters high and, as experts attest, was produced with terracotta clay in the 17th century in a 17th-century style.
The first seven best-known and widely disseminated miracles will be described below, some of which are recognized by the Vatican. But countless others occurred in the first years after finding the image of Our Lady that could be related.
1 - The miracle catch
After finding the image and its head, they wrapped it in a cloth, crossed themselves and cast their nets. They pulled and now they came full of fish to the point of filling the three canoes to the point of tipping them over , leaving the fishermen tremendously astonished, as they had found nothing all day until the previous moment, having no doubts about the intercession of the found saint.
They cleaned the image well and verified that it was Our Lady of Conception . However, due to the fact that it appeared in the river, it became popularly called "aparecida", that is, Our Lady of Aparecida (or Our Lady of Conception Aparecida). Fisherman Felipe Pedroso took her home, where he received the community to pray and make novenas. Fifteen years later he gave it to his son Athanasius. A man of faith, he soon built an oratory for the image.
2 - The miracle of candles
The community used to light some candles around the image. It was the year 1736. However, on a calm and windless night, all the candles went out by themselves during prayers. As they approached, they rekindled themselves. This supernatural phenomenon happened again on other occasions, and news spread throughout the region until it reached the local priest. He had a larger chapel built to better accommodate the growing veneration of Nossa Senhora Aparecida. And other changes were then made to larger and larger locations as the miracles multiplied , until the construction of the (old) Sanctuary in 1745 in Morro dos Coqueiros on the banks of the Paraíba River. Soon it became popularly known as the city of Aparecida do Norte (but in fact the municipality is located southwest of the state of São Paulo), close to Guaratinguetá and Pindamonhangaba.
3 - The slave's chains broke
Another widespread miracle was that of the runaway slave named Zechariah. Upon being captured by its owner at the time, it was led back to the farm in chains. On the way they passed in front of the Sanctuary and he asks to say a prayer to the saint. Its owner allowed it. As soon as he began to pray kneeling in front of the image, his chains broke , falling to the ground. His owner was moved and offered the price of the slave to Our Lady and took him back as a free person. The broken chains are on display at the National Sanctuary of Aparecida museum to this day.
4 - The repentant knight
In 1850, a horseman heading to Minas Gerais passes through Aparecida do Norte and sees a pilgrimage to the sanctuary. He mocks the pilgrims, treating their faith with contempt. To demonstrate his lack of respect, he tries to enter the sanctuary on horseback, but when the animal steps on the stones of the stairs, its leg sinks, getting stuck and knocking the rider hard to the ground. The horseshoe mark remains engraved in the stone. The man repented, asked the pilgrims for forgiveness and became a devotee of Our Lady of Aparecida . The stone with the horse's horseshoe mark is also currently on display in the Basilica's museum.
5 - The blind girl who can see again
In a family in Jaboticabal/SP, very devoted to Our Lady of Aparecida, a blind girl was born. Her dream was to visit the Sanctuary in Aparecida. After a long journey, the mother arrives with the child on the steps of the Sanctuary. She looks up and says to her mother: " What a beautiful church! " From that moment on, he began to see normally.
6 - The hunter and the jaguar
A hunter was cornered by a jaguar that was already preparing to attack him ferociously. In that situation, only a miracle would save him . He cried out to Our Lady of Aparecida. Then, the jaguar calmly approaches, smells him, turns around and leaves!
7 - Boy saves himself from drowning
In 1862, father and son go fishing on the Paraíba River. The current was strong and knocked the boy out of the boat. He didn't know how to swim. The father begins to cry out to Our Lady of Aparecida to save him. At the same moment, the river miraculously calms down and the boy is no longer carried away by the current, floating on the surface. The father rescues him and verifies that his son has not swallowed a drop of water, proving Our Lady's intercession.
The robe and crown of the image
A fact that is a little unknown even to the Brazilian population is that the blue mantle and crown that we always see in images of Nossa Senhora Aparecida was a gift from Princess Izabel, daughter of the King of Brazil, Dom Pedro II and very Catholic. Due to her difficulty in getting pregnant, she promised to put a mantle in her image with 21 diamonds, representing the 21 provinces of the Empire and the capital, if she managed to have a child with Conde D'eu, her husband. The mantle is dark blue in color and over time they left it with a triangular shape.
Princess Izabel was also responsible for abolishing slavery in Brazil, attracting the ire of her enemies and oligarchic landowners, who removed her from the imperial throne. But this evil was transformed into great good by God's referrals. She, on the other hand, ordered a miniature replica of the crown that she would have used if she had been queen of Brazil to be placed on the head of the image of Our Lady of Aparecida. The replica was made in 24 carat gold, weighing 300 grams, 24 larger and 16 smaller diamonds. Once the construction of the crown was finished, he went to the Sanctuary and offered the crown to Mother Mary along with a written note:
"I, before you, am a princess of the earth and I bow, because you are the Queen of heaven and I give you such a poor gift that it is a crown that would be the same as mine, and if I do not sit on the throne of Brazil, I pray that the Lady sits in it for me and perpetually governs Brazil"
Pope Pius X signed a decree in 1904 for the coronation of Nossa Senhora Aparecida with the crown of Princess Izabel, becoming from that moment the Queen of Brazil . Still, in 1930 she was proclaimed as Patroness of Brazil, always celebrated on October 12, the day on which fishermen found the image in the Paraíba river.
National Sanctuary of Aparecida (Basilica of Aparecida)
The image is currently in the National Sanctuary of Aparecida, the largest in the world dedicated to Our Lady, consecrated by Pope John Paul II and visited by three popes. It receives around 8 million visitors a year, a world record as well. More than 300 years later, the miracles attributed to the black virgin found in the rivers of Brazil continue to multiply in the country, as well as around the world!. In the Sanctuaries thousands of objects and letters left by devotees in gratitude for the miracles achieved can be found.
We will always repeat what John Paul II proclaimed in the Basilica when he visited our Mother in city Aparecida do Norte:
“Long live the Mother of God and ours, sinless conceived! Long live the Immaculate Virgin, Lady Aparecida”.
References: Editora Cleofas(a), Editora Cleofas(b), A12(a), A12(b), Canção Nova , Como Rezar , National Sanctuary of Aparecida, Archdiocesan Sanctuary of Our Lady of Aparecida, Em Paz Consigo, Jornal DCI, Franciscanos(a), Franciscanos(b)