Our Lady of Navigators

Our Lady of Navigators

Statue of Our Lady of Navigators at the Our Lady of Navigators church, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Feast 2 February
Attributes Blessed Virgin Mary held by angels, Infant Jesus holding an anchor, mantle, jewelry, crown, halo of stars
Patronage Navigators, sailors, protection from storms

Our Lady of Navigators also known as Our Lady of Seafarers (Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes in Portuguese) is a devotional title given to the Virgin Mary by Roman Catholics. It is a widespread devotion in South America, specially Brazil, where the Our Lady of Navigators is celebrated on February 2 as an official holiday. Religious procession where the image of the Virgin Mary is carried take place in most coastal cities that have harbors, specially the large ones. Several churches in Brazil are dedicated to Our Lady of Navigators.[1][2]

The devotion started in the fifteenth century by Europeans, especially the Portuguese navigators, praying for a safe return to their homes. They saw the Virgin Mary as their protector during storms and other hazards. The first statue in South America was brought from Portugal to Brazil.

The theme of the "Virgin Mary as the protector" was similarly used in The Virgin of the Navigators, 1531–36, the earliest known painting whose subject is the discovery of the Americas.[3][4]

See also

Gallery of churches

Notes

  1. ↑ Candice Lee Goucher, 2007 World history: journeys from past to present ISBN 0-415-77137-4 page 102
  2. ↑ Vicente del Rio, 2009 Contemporary urbanism in Brazil ISBN 0-8130-3281-4 page 189
  3. ↑ John Noble, Susan Forsyth, Vesna Maric, Paula Hardy. Andalucía. Lonely Planet, 2007, p. 100
  4. ↑ Silvio Bedini, 1991 The Christopher Columbus encyclopedia ISBN 0-13-142670-2 page 318

Sources

External links

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