Marian devotion
Our Lady of Macarena Hope
La Esperanza de Sevilla
Mary Most Holy of Hope Macarena is a venerated Marian advocation in the basilica of the Macarena, in the Sevillian district of San Gil. The painful height of the 17th century, is one of the most devoted images of the Holy Week of Seville, where it makes a station of penance in the early morning of Good Friday, the famous Madrugá. His fervor has crossed the borders of the city and Spain.
Main data
Central message: under the name of Hope, Mary accompanies the people of Seville in their joys and sorrows, as a painful Mother who supports the trust of those who look at her.
Tradition and devotion: a necessary distinction
La devoción popular has attributed the image to various renowned sculptors and has assigned it early dates, but the autoría es anónima. The critique places it with caution in the 17th century, about 1680, within the workshop of the sculptor Sevillian Pedro RoldanThe names of John of Mesa, Benito of Hita, Joseph Montes of Oca, and especially his own daughter, La Roldana. It is therefore appropriate to distinguish devotional attribution from what the documentation makes it possible to state.
La documented historyOn the other hand, he is sure to witness the reforms of the brotherhood between 1670 and 1680, the great embroidery and goldsmiths of the 20th century, the canonical coronation of 1964 and the subsequent distinctions. The devotion to hope, real and verifiable, depends not on who the size is attributed to, but on centuries of love of a people.
History of the image and its brotherhood
The image and its origin (17th century)
The image is the result of the important reforms that the Brotherhood of the Macarena carried out in its artistic heritage between 1670 and 1680. Until 1654 the brotherhood had only processed an image of the Virgin and a Crucified by the sculptor Pedro Nieto. The new size, a image of candlestick, can be dated around 1680 and is attributed to the workshop of Pedro Roldan. The first known restoration is 1881, by Emilio Pizarro de la Cruz.
Rodríguez Ojeda and the Juar (early 20th century)
At the beginning of the 20th century the image was professionally linked to the embroidery Juan Manuel Rodríguez Ojeda, brother of the corporation, who renewed his aesthetics and influenced all of Sepvilan Holy Week. Between 1899 and 1900 he made the famous manto de malla or "Camaronero"; in 1908, the velvet pallet. On March 27, 1913, Cardinal Henry Almaraz Santos blessed the golden crown, and the seven daggers were removed from his chest and the mariquillas made of rock glass, gift of the bullfighter Joselito el Gallo.
The mourning for Joselito and the civil war
The death of Joselito el Gallo in 1920 shocked the brotherhood, of which he was lieutenant of older brother: Rodríguez Ojeda dressed for the first and only time in the image of black, in a sign of mourning. During the Second Republic, in the face of the danger of looting, a cleaner hid it, and it was deposited in the bullfighter's grave. In the early morning of July 18, 1936, at the beginning of the civil war, the parish of San Gil was set on fire; the image, put safely in a private home, was not damaged.
The canonical coronation (1964)
In 1962 the brotherhood asked Pope John XXIII for the canonical coronation, granted by the Holy See in 1963. The ceremony was held at 31 May 1964: planned for the square of Spain, the bad weather moved it to the interior of the cathedral of Seville. The Macarena was the second painful image of Seville in receiving this dignity, after the Virgin of the Adagura. The procession back to its basilica lasted twelve hours.
Universal distinctions and devotion
In 1971 the Council imposed the Gold Medal of SevilleIn 1925 he had starred the first public besamans in a painful one. In 2024 Pope Francis granted him the Golden Rose, being the third Marian image of Spain to receive it. His devotion extends throughout Spain and across countries of Europe, America and Asia, with many copies; the oldest is that of the Brotherhood of Great Power and Hope Macarena in Madrid.
La Madrugá
La Esperanza Macarena makes its station of penance with the Brotherhood of the Macarena Hope on the morning of Good Friday, the Madragá, one of the most intense moments of Sevillian Holy Week. It is also the painful image of the city that has on most occasions performed extraordinary processions, outside of Easter time and for many different reasons.
Spiritual Message of the Macarena
The devotion to the Hope of Seville continues to speak with simplicity today:
🌿 Mary is Mother of hope. His same name invites him not to give up when life is made uphill.
😢 Mary understands the pain. Like Dolorosa, she cries with those who cry and hold on to those who suffer.
🌃 Madrugá teaches to watch. The people who wait in the night learn to wait with faith for the light of Easter.
✝️ Mary always leads to the Son. Under the palate, Hope is walking towards the encounter with Christ the Redeemer.
Prayer to Our Lady of Macarena Hope
Holy Mary of Hope,
Painful and comforting mother:
in the midst of our sorrows and the dark night,
Hold our trust and take us to your Son Jesus.
You who sail in the morning for the people who love you,
look at those who have lost hope
And give them back the joy of knowing the children of God.
Amen.
Marian sober prayer of hope, collected in our section of Marian prayers.
A flower for the Virgin
It offers a simple prayer to the Virgin of Hope Macarena. Pray a Hail Mary for Seville and for those who have lost hope.
Pray Hail MaryIs the advocation of the Virgin Mary of your people missing?
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