Our Lady of Caravaggio de Nova Veneza

Marian Advocation of Nova Veneza (Santa Catarina)

La advocación de Our Lady of Caravaggio in Nova Veneza (state of Santa Catarina, Brazil) is directly linked to the Marian apparition of Santa María del Fonte in Caravaggio (Lombardy, Italy), which occurred according to the tradition of 26 May 1432 to the peasant Giannetta of 'Vacchi, where the Virgin made a source of water sprout and called for conversion and peace among families. This Italian tradition, deeply rooted in northern Italy, was taken to Brazil by immigrants, especially in the Veneto colonies of southern Italy.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of Caravaggio in Nova Veneza (state of Santa Catarina, Brazil) is directly linked to the Marian apparition of Santa María del Fonte in Caravaggio (Lombardy, Italy), which occurred according to the tradition of 26 May 1432 to the peasant Giannetta of 'Vacchi, where the Virgin made a source of water sprout and called for conversion and peace among families. This Italian tradition, deeply rooted in northern Italy, was taken to Brazil by immigrants, especially in the Veneto colonies of southern Italy.

En Nova Veneza (Santa Catarina)The devotion to Our Lady of Caravaggio was born in the context of the Italian colonization of the region at the end of the 19th and early 20th century; however, in the sources consulted it is only generally established that the present sanctuary is the result of the piety of the Veneto settlers and their descendants, who wanted to reproduce in Brazil the Marian devotion of their land of origin. It does not contain, in the accessible documentation, a precise date of foundation of the sanctuary or of the first chapel, although it is clearly presented as Devotional replica of the Italian sanctuary and as an identity center of the colony of Veneto origin in the south catarinense.

It should be stressed that this invocation in Nova Veneza (SC, Brasil) is distinguished from the important homonymous devotion of Santuary of Our Lady of Caravaggio en Farroupilha (Rio Grande do Sul), which is a great national pilgrimage center; in the case of Nova Veneza, devotion has a more local reach and linked to the memory of Veneto immigration. There is no relation to any sanctuary in Colombia.

The image and the sanctuary

The sources consulted on Shrine of Our Lady of Caravaggio of New Venice are of a tourist and devotional type and describe the place as a Marian sanctuary located in a natural environment, visited by pilgrims and tourists, but do not provide a detailed and secure description of the image (material, author, date) or its specific iconography. By analogy with the classic iconography of Caravaggio in Italy, where the Virgin is represented blessing Giannetta next to the source, it can be assumed that the local image follows that model, but this is only an inference: no consta in the sources consulted a precise description of the venerated image in Nova Veneza.

The place of worship is known as Shrine of Our Lady of Caravaggio, in the municipality of Nova Veneza, state of Santa Catarina. It is a temple and devotional complex that hosts celebrations, pilgrimages and religious activities, integrated into the landscape of the Italian colony and easily accessible from the city. It is not known that the temple has been elevated to the dignity of minor basilicanor that it is a national sanctuary; in the documentation consulted it is presented simply as a local Marian sanctuary, without a special canonical title beyond the pastoral recognition implicit in the life of the particular Church.

Sponsorship and coronation

The documentation available presents to Our Lady of Caravaggio how patron saint of the municipality of Nova Veneza (Santa Catarina, Brasil) and as the main Marian reference of the Veneto community of southern Catarinense. In this context, advocation acts as a sign of religious and cultural identity, linking the memory of Italian immigration to the Catholic faith.

With regard to a possible canonical coronation of the venerated image in Nova Veneza, in the sources consulted (ecclesial, informative and reference) does not contain a documented canonical coronation: No decree or explicit mention of coronation ceremony was found on behalf of a Pontiff or the corresponding delegated authority.

Party and devotion

The fiesta principal de Our Lady of Caravaggio se celebra el 26 May, in continuity with the date of the apparition of 1432 in the sanctuary of Caravaggio, Italy. In Nova Veneza, the day is lived with Solemn Mass, Devotional Acts and Pilgrimage, following the pattern of the other Brazilian communities linked to this advocation.

Local sources describe the sanctuary as a frequent destination of religious pilgrimages and walks from the Matrix Church of São Marcos in Nova Veneza to the Santuário of Nossa Senhora of Caravaggio, calling on the faithful to participate in this "path of memoria" as a gesture of faith and belonging. Although there are no official figures of influx for Nova Veneza, it is indicated that devotion moves both the faithful of the municipality and visitors of the region, within the framework of the Italian-Brazilian traditions, with a festive and familiar environment around the Eucharist, Marian prayer and community coexistence.

Link to the Rosary

The sources consulted on Our Lady of Caravaggio en New Venice do not explicitly mention a unique practice of Rosary own of this sanctuary nor a specific title of the Virgin linked to the prayer of mysteries. Therefore, no consta a particular or exclusive relationship with the Rosary beyond the common practice of the Church.

However, devotion to Our Lady of Caravaggio, born of a call to the conversion, family peace and trust in God's graceIt deeply harmonizes with the spirit of the Rosary: in the meditation of the mysteries of Christ's life with Mary, the communities of Nova Veneza can welcome the message of reconciliation and hope proper to this advocation, uniting the memory of its Veneto origins with the contemplation of the mysteries of faith and the persisting intercession of the Virgin for the Church and for families.