What are the miracles of Our Lady?

Do you know any miracle of Our Lady of Aparecida? Since her image was taken from the waters by fishermen, she grants graces to those who pray to her. Her first miracle was to grant a bountiful catch to the residents of Guaratinguetá at a time when fishing was not favorable.

From then on, her miracles were spread among the people and conquered new devotees every day. Her fame of granting graces was so well known that even monarchs made supplications to her. Princess Isabel asked Our Lady of Aparecida the possibility of becoming pregnant.

After he succeeded, in gratitude and devotion, he gave the image of the saint the blue mantle with the gold embroidery and the gold crown with diamonds and rubies, which remains in the image until today. Read this article and find out more details about the history of Our Lady of Aparecida, the Patron Saint of Brazil.

History of Our Lady of Aparecida

There are many mysteries from when the image of the saint was taken from the waters of the Paraíba do Sul River, in 1717. Stories of abundance in times of scarcity, miracles involving Princess Isabel and the beginning of a genuine devotion that today draws millions of faithful to the Basilica of Aparecida every year. Learn now the history of the Patroness of Brazil and its main mysteries.

The miracle in the apparition of Our Lady

It was the year 1717, when the governor of the captaincy of São Paulo and Count of Assumar was on his way to Vila Rica for some appointments. Pedro Miguel de Almeida Portugal e Vasconcelos, would pass through the little town of Guaratinguetá, which made the population very excited.

They were so happy that the locals decided to hold a banquet for the entourage that would pass by there, making the fishermen go to the river in search of fish. The visitation took place in October, a time that was not conducive to fishing, but even so the three fishermen chosen went to the river that day.

In the boat were Domingos Garcia, João Alves and Felipe Pedroso, who prayed to the Virgin Mary, asking her to protect them during the trip and that she would provide them with plenty of fish. The fishing location was the Paraíba do Sul River, there the fishermen spent hours and hours casting their nets in search of fish. Several attempts were in vain.

After so long and almost without hope, John cast his net and found the body of the image of Our Lady. He brought it to the boat and when he cast the net a second time, he managed to find the head. When the image was complete, the fishermen could no longer move the image, it became too heavy.

Their nets, which were thrown into the river, were filled with fish. The boat became so heavy that the fishermen had to return to the margin of the Paraíba River so that the small boat would not sink. This event was considered as the first miracle of Our Lady of Aparecida.

Devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida

The devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida occurred organically among the faithful. After the occurrence in Paraíba River, the fisherman Felipe Pedroso, who was part of the trio of fishermen, left the image in his house and allowed the people of the town to visit it. The faithful prayed the rosary kneeling at the foot of the saint, and the graces were answered.

The abundance of fish in the Paraíba River was spreading and every day more people became devotees of Nossa Senhora Aparecida. The fame for her miracles was known by thousands of people during all these years and makes her faithful go to the sanctuary every year in search of gratitude.

First Chapel

For many years after her apparition, the image of Our Lady of Aparecida stayed in the house of the fishermen who found her. In the year 1745 a church was built on top of Coqueiro hill, where it would be the new home of the Saint.

The Chapel of Coqueiros had its first celebration on July 26, 1975, and from then on, the Catholic Church recognized the cult of Our Lady of Aparecida.

Crown and Cloak of Our Lady of Aparecida

Her gold crown and embroidered robe were a gift from Princess Isabel. The princess had serious fertility problems, resulting in some miscarriages during her life. Even with these fatalities, she never lost faith and prayed fervently to Our Lady of Aparecida. After many attempts, Princess Isabel managed to have 3 children: Pedro, Luiz Maria and Antonio

The princess made two visits to the sanctuary where the image was located. The first was in 1868, when she offered the saint a blue mantle containing the 21 Brazilian states of that time. In her second pilgrimage to the sanctuary in 1884, Princess Isabel thanked the saint and gave her the gold crown studded with rubies and diamonds that the saint carries until today.nowadays.

Redemptorist Missionaries

The Redemptorist Missionaries are a group that had been idealized by the Italian Alphonsus de Liguori, in order to evangelize the poor and abandoned. In 1984, they arrived in Brazil, at the request of Bishop Joaquim Arcoverde, to take care of the Shrine of Aparecida and assist the pilgrims who arrived in the region.

In the beginning they stayed only in the region of the sanctuary to attend the pilgrims. As the years went by they started to travel around the country to seek the devotees of Our Lady of Aparecida, in order to take the good news and the graces of the saint, bringing the faithful who lived far away closer to her.

Coronation and favors

Although she received her crown as a gift in 1184 from Princess Isabel, her coronation actually took place years later. In a solemn ceremony on September 8, 1904, Our Lady of Aparecida was crowned for the first time by a representative of the Pope who was in Brazil.

After this ceremony, the Pope granted some favors to the Sanctuary of Aparecida. From that date on, the office the mass proper to Our Lady of Aparecida and indulgences to pilgrims to the sanctuary.

The basilica and the city

The image of Our Lady of Aparecida was found in the town of Guaratinguetá, in São Paulo. For many years it stayed in fishermen's houses, until it went to the first chapel in Morro dos Coqueiros. As the years went by, the district of Aparecida was created, which only achieved its emancipation from Guaratinguetá at the end of the 20's.

On December 17, 1928, the state president Júlio Prestes approved the law that declared Aparecida as a municipality.

Our Lady of Aparecida, Queen and Patroness of Brazil

Our Lady of Aparecida was crowned in 1904 in a solemn ceremony, but her title of Queen and Patroness of Brazil came years later. During a Marian Congress, Dom Sebastião Leme, who was Cardinal Archbishop at the time, asked the Holy See that Our Lady receive the declaration of Patroness of Brazil.

In 1930 Pope Pius XI, during his visit to Brazil, granted the title of Queen and Patroness of Brazil to Our Lady of Conception Aparecida.

Rose of Gold

The Golden Rose is a recognition of the Pope to a place of devotion. The pontiffs send this gift as a sign of devotion and love to the places that develop a certain predilection. Therefore, when visiting various shrines around the world, they can offer that place a golden rose, which is made and blessed in the Vatican. The rose is used because it is considered the queen of flowers.

Our Lady of Aparecida currently has three golden roses, offered by the following pontiffs:

Pope Paul VI - 1967;

Pope Benedict XVI - 2007;

Pope Francis - 2017.

New Basilica

The new Basilica had its construction started on November 11, 1955. However, the first mass had taken place years before, in 1946 when the foundation stone was laid on September 10, 1956.

The end of the construction happened in 1959, but the saint was only transferred from the Basilica on October 3, 1982, from then on Our Lady of Aparecida moved to the New Basilica.

A simple and popular devotion

The devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida arose in a simple way. The fishermen who took her from the waters began to tell about the miracle of the fishes, attracting the eyes of the neighbors who lived around there. Since then the stories about the miracles were passed from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation, bringing more and more devotees for all these years.

Some saints have attracted their faithful due to apparitions, such as Our Lady of Fatima. With the Patroness of Brazil, this love and devotion was born from the Saint's trials in moments of supplication and need.

Our Lady's miracles

Some remarkable miracles are part of Our Lady's history, from the appearance of fish to the cure of blindness. Know now the six most known miracles of Our Lady of Aparecida!

Miracle of the candles

Since she was pulled from the water in October 1717, Our Lady began to have faithful who prayed for her every day. One of the fishermen who pulled her from the river kept the image in his house for about 5 years before passing it on to his son. The heir built a small altar in his own house so that he and the people of the village could say their prayers.

Around 1733, every Saturday, the residents of the neighborhood prayed the rosary in front of the image of Our Lady of Aparecida. On a Saturday afternoon, the two candles that made up the altar mysteriously went out. The faithful present at the scene were in a state of shock at the situation and, before they could even try to re-light them, a light breeze entered the place and re-lit the candles on the altar.

Miracle of the blind girl

In 1874, in a city in the interior of São Paulo called Jaboticabal, Dona Gertrudes lived with her husband and her approximately 9 year old daughter who was visually impaired. The girl learned the story of Our Lady and wanted to know where the image was kept. Without thinking twice, the family did everything in their power to provide this trip for their daughter.

It was approximately a three month journey until they reached the place where the image was. They went through many difficulties along the way, but they never lost faith. While walking along the dirt road, meters away from the chapel, the girl stared at the horizon and shouted to her mother: "Look, Mama, the chapel of the Saint!

Miracle of the chains

After some years of the chapel's construction in 1745, it was more common and easier for the faithful to visit the place to make their supplications to the Saint. With Zacharias it was no different, he was an old slave that was beaten a lot due to his work not being as profitable as before.

One day, the master of the farm tied Zacarias' fists and he knew he would be beaten again, only this time he was afraid he would not survive. In that moment of despair, Zacarias remembered the Saint and thought that because she was the same color as him, she would help him. So, the slave ran away to the chapel of Morro dos Coqueiros in search of Our Lady's clemency.

The steward, upon discovering his escape, took his horse and ran after him, intending to mistreat him. When Zacharias passed through the door of the chapel, his chains fell to the ground. Upon witnessing this scene, the steward was in a state of shock. When they returned to the farm, Zacharias had been freed and was able to leave the place without a scratch.

Miracle of the faithless knight

A horseman born in Cuiabá was wandering with his horse through the roads of Brazil. When passing through the region where today is known as Aparecida, he saw a crowd of faithful near the chapel where the saint was. Seeing that situation, he began to mock the people who were there and not satisfied, he decided to prove that it was all a lie by entering the place with his horse.

When the horse put its first paw inside the chapel, its hoof stuck to a stone, causing this rider to go to the ground. This sign was enough for him to understand the power of the Saint that was there in front of him. Since that day, the faithless rider became a devotee of Nossa Senhora Aparecida.

Miracle of the boy in the river

The father and his son decided to go fishing, only on this chosen day the current was very strong making fishing dangerous. They got into the small boat and entered the river. As the water was sluggish, the boat ended up knocking his son into the water.

The fisherman knew that if he went into the water after his son he would also be carried by the water, it was at this moment that he asked Our Lady of Aparecida to save his son.

At that very instant, the river became calm and his son stopped being carried by the strong current. It was as if something was holding him on the surface so that he would not drown. The fisherman managed to pull his son back into the small boat and they both returned safely to their home.

Miracle of the man and the jaguar

Tiago Terra left home early that day to hunt, and after a long frustrating day of vain attempts, Tiago had returned to his home without any ammunition to protect himself from the dangers of the forest. Halfway there, he came across an angry jaguar, and the place he was in was impossible for him to run from that beast to save himself.

In an act of desperation, he threw himself on his knees on the ground and asked Our Lady of Aparecida to protect him and free him from that situation. The jaguar calmed down and went back into the forest, without hurting the poor hunter.

Does Our Lady of Aparecida still work miracles?

After being taken from the waters of the Paraíba do Sul River, Our Lady of Aparecida performed many miracles for those who made their supplication to her. Many of her miracles became known, which made her gather many faithful during all these years.

The most famous miracles are the ones that the faithful usually perpetuate, but several graces are granted in silence, for those who really believe. For this reason, every year we can see in newspapers the great pilgrimages to the Sanctuary of Aparecida, where the faithful go to thank for the grace achieved in their lives.

There are several reports of diseases that were cured even without the belief of doctors, deliverances from anguish, prosperity in life, among other miracles. Thus, the Patroness of Brazil continues to provide miracles in the lives of her faithful!

To have a grace attended by Our Lady of Aparecida, it is necessary to have a lot of faith, ask with all your heart and make prayers asking her to intercede on your behalf.