Our Lady of Candelaria, patron of the historic district of Candelaria

Marian devotion of Guatemala City (Guatemala)

La advocación de Our Lady of Candelaria has its remote origin on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)from where it spread to America during the colonial era. In Guatemala, devotion to the Candelaria was strongly rooted and named several towns and neighborhoods, including the historic district of Candelaria in Guatemala City.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of Candelaria has its remote origin on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)from where it spread to America during the colonial era. In Guatemala, devotion to the Candelaria was strongly rooted and named several towns and neighborhoods, including the historic district of Candelaria in Guatemala City.

On the concrete beginning of the cult in the district of Candelaria (area 1) and the foundation of his parish as one of the oldest in the capital, do not easily contain accurate and dated historical data from the sources consulted; the information available online is limited to mentioning the historical importance of the temple and its traditional character within the historical center of the city.

The local tradition, collected in outreach notes and audiovisual materials, presents the Virgin of Candelaria as former patron of the neighborhood and protagonist of prayers and processions from colonial or nineteenth timesbut without the provision of specific documents (minutes, decrees, dated chronicles) that allow a strict date of origin of the image or parish. En este punto se debe distinguir claramente: – TRADITION / LEYENDA: antigua y continua devoción popular a la Virgen en el barrio de Candelaria, vinculada a procesiones y a la identidad del sector histórico. – HISTORIA DOCUMENTADA: for the parish of the district of Candelaria in Guatemala City precise and verifiable time data have not been found in accessible sources on the date of canonical erection of the temple, arrival of the image or formal declaration of patronage. As a result, many details of their origins remain "unrecorded" at the documentary level.

The image and the sanctuary

The accessible sources describe the image of Our Lady of Candelaria of Guatemala City mainly through photographs and videos of her procedure and of parish activity, without providing detailed technical data of artistic type (author, date, exact material, restorations, etc.). For these graphic evidence it can be said that this is a dress up image of the Virgin Mary, with the Child Jesus, presented according to the classical iconography of the Candelaria: Mary candles or cirios (symbol of the light of Christ), and the Child also appears with attributes specific to the Presentation in the Temple. Beyond this, the author, the exact date of size and the material are not documented, so such data should be left in "not recorded."

The temple where it is venerated is the Parish Our Lady of Candelarialocated in the historical area of Guatemala City (commonly associated with the "district of Candelaria"). Various reports highlight it as a traditional parish and popular deep raigambre, known for his prayers and processions around the feast of February 2. In the sources consulted it is not known that the temple has been elevated to the dignity of the minor basilica or that there is formal recognition as a national or diocesan sanctuary, so, for canonical purposes, it is a parroquia of the archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala.

Sponsorship and coronation

The Virgin of Candelaria is patron of various localities in Guatemala, according to press releases and news articles. However, in the specific case of Parish Our Lady of Candelaria in the district of Candelaria of Guatemala Citythe sources consulted are limited to pointing out their importance as historical parish and of deep-rooted devotionbut no formal decree to declare it canonical patron of the city of Guatemala or of the municipality. In the plan of the popular pietythe Virgin of Candelaria is understood as patron of the historic district of Candelariabut this patronage is based more on tradition and devotional life than on an explicit pontifical or episcopal document available publicly.

On a canonical coronation of the image venerated in the Parish of Candelaria of Guatemala City, no documented reference to a canonical coronation (neither pontifical nor diocesan) with clearly indicated date and delegated authority is recorded in the sources consulted. Therefore, strictly and in accordance with the information available, it should be stated: "does not contain a documented canonical coronation" for this particular image.

Party and devotion

La liturgical feast of the Virgin of the Candelaria se celebra el 2 Februarythe day of the Lord's Presentation and the Purification of Mary, according to the calendar of the Church. In Guatemala, various media media reports that the celebration of Candelaria in the neighborhood of the same name, in Guatemala City, is extended as a popular and religious party that goes from about 25 January to 2 February, with prayers, solemn masses, processions and traditional fair.

In the Guatemalan context, the Virgin of Candelaria is honored with processions, Eucharist, prayers and blessing of candles, a sign of this advocation, in which Christ is emphasized as "light to light the nations." In Guatemala City, the parish of Candelaria is distinguished by its Received processingthat he walks through the historical center and calls many faithful and co-fradies, as show graphic chronicles and videos of the procession.

The journalistic and devotional sources also point out that, at the national level, the Virgin of Candelaria is linked to ferrias titular and popular traditions (such as the employers' fairs in municipalities that have her as a patron, or customs associated with the blessing of candles and family life). For the parish of the district of Candelaria in the capital, no official flow figuresbut the mass character of the procession and the annual continuity of the feast manifest a living and deep-rooted devotion.

Link to the Rosary

In the sources consulted on the Virgin of Candelaria in Guatemala does not contain a specific and documented relationship between this specific advocation of the district of Candelaria and an own or exclusive practice of the prayer of the Rosary (e.g. particular rosarian fellowship or official title linked to the Rosary).

However, from the Marian spirituality of the Church, the Rosary It naturally accompanies devotion to Our Lady of Candelaria. The mystery that is celebrated on February 2, the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, is part of the joyful mysteries of the Rosary, in which Mary's obedience to the law of the Lord and the manifestation of Christ as the light of the nations are considered. The prayer of the Rosary before the image of Our Lady of Candelaria helps:

– Contemplar a Mary as Mother who presents Jesus and offers him to the Father, modelo de entrega y consagración. – Meditar la light of Christ simbolizada en las candelas bendecidas, pidiendo que ilumine la vida personal, familiar y social. – Unir la popular piety (procession, candles, prayers) with the contemplative prayer of the Rosary, in continuity with the Marian tradition of the Church.

This way, though no particular and exclusive historical link, el Rosary if I present a privileged form of prayer to live in depth the devotion to Our Lady of Candelaria and her mysteries of light and of giving to the Lord.