Our Lady of Guadalupe of Old Cuscatlán, venerated in the Basilica - Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Marian Advocation of Old Cuscatlán (La Libertad)

In accessible online documentation (ecclesial pages, encyclopedic bases and Catholic press), does not contain a detailed historical narrative or a specific "foundational legend" on the origin of the advocation of Our Lady of Guadalupe venerated in Old Cuscatlán (La Libertad, El Salvador). No official reference has been found to local apparitions, prodigious findings of images or initial miracles associated with this specific advocation.

Main data

Origin and history

In accessible online documentation (ecclesial pages, encyclopedic bases and Catholic press), does not contain a detailed historical narrative or a specific "foundational legend" on the origin of the advocation of Our Lady of Guadalupe venerated in Old Cuscatlán (La Libertad, El Salvador). No official reference has been found to local apparitions, prodigious findings of images or initial miracles associated with this specific advocation.

What can be said for sure is that the Guadalupana devotion that roots in El Salvador is inserted in the great continental spread of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Mexicowhose apparition to San Juan Diego in 1531 on the hill of Tepeyac and later missionary irradiation marked the piety of all Latin America. This expansion explains that various parishes and shrines of the region take the title "Guadalupe" for their local temples and devotions, although often without a clearly documented history of their own.

On the the date of the foundation of the sanctuary on the road to Santa Tecla (La Libertad), not included in the sources consulted a year of canonical erection or clearly confirmed construction. Also, in accessible official resources, erection decrees have not been found as a diocesan or national sanctuary specifically dated and published.

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The image and the sanctuary

The sources consulted do not accurately and verifiably describe the main image of Our Lady of Guadalupe venerated in the basilica-sanctuary of Old Cuscatlán: it does not count with safety if it is a painting, sculpture of a lump, relief, size, author or material, nor a detailed iconography beyond the generic reference to the guadalupan advocation. In the absence of reliable data, no specific artistic detail can be affirmed responsibly.

As for the temple, it is mentioned in some references such as Basilica-Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupelocated in the area of Old Cuscatlán, on the road to Santa Tecla, in the department of La Libertad (El Salvador). However, a decree granting the title "minor basilica" issued by the Holy See has not been found in the public sources consulted nor a clear mention in official basilic lists, so that this title could be used in a devotional or popular and non-legal-canonical sense; in that case, it should be spoken with caution.

Nor is it certain whether the sanctuary has the official rank of diocesan or national shrine, since in the available resources, decrees of the competent diocese or of the Episcopal Conference have not been found that define it as such. The only thing that can be said, in general, is that it is a important center of Guadalupana devotion in the countrywho come to him, especially around 12 December.

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Sponsorship and coronation

No clear official statement has been found in the accessible documentation. Our Lady of Guadalupe of Old Cuscatlán as a specific patron of the city, municipality, diocese or country. It is certain that Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico) is a patron of Latin America and has a strong symbolic and spiritual presence throughout the region, but does not contain a local civil or ecclesiastical patronage formally proclaimed for this specific image.

On the canonical coronation, the sources consulted no documented canonical coronation decree or ceremony given to the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe venerated in this sanctuary of Old Cuscatlán. Therefore, following the requested indication:

> does not contain a documented canonical coronation.

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Party and devotion

La main party of Our Lady of Guadalupe, throughout the Americas, the 12 Decemberin memory of the apparitions of the Tepeyac and in line with the liturgical calendar approved for this Marian advocation. In shrines, parishes and communities with Guadalupana title, this date is celebrated with particular solemnity, and can also be considered the main feast in the shrine of Old Cuscatlán, given the universal character of Guadalupana devotion and the absence of another documented own date.

In El Salvador, as in many Latin American countries, the Guadalupana celebration is often accompanied by Solemn Mass, processions, pilgrimages, serenades, previous novitiaries and floral offeringsBut for this particular sanctuary, no official flow figures or specific local traditions verified (e.g. number of pilgrims, times of the day before, particular customs). What can be said, by analogy with other Guadalupans shrines and from the usual pastoral practice in the region, is that December 12 is a intense day of popular devotionwith a strong family and community dimension.

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Link to the Rosary

The sources consulted do not document a specific and own link between the advocation of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Old Cuscatlán and some particular practice of Rosary (for example, a Rosary fellowship canonically erected in the sanctuary, promises to pray the Rosary associated with this concrete image or special indulgences linked to the recitation of the Rosary before it). Therefore, it can only be stated in general:

– does not contain a special documented link with the Rosary it is typical of this sanctuary or image.

However, from the perspective of mariology and of the Guadalupana spirituality, the Rosary This devotion naturally accompanies. The Rosary is a christocentric prayer that contemplates the mysteries of Christ from the hand of Mary, and the Virgin of Guadalupe, in her traditional iconography, appears as Mother who leads to Christ and accompanies his people, which fully harmonizes with the meditation of the joyful, luminous, painful and glorious mysteries. The recitation of the Rosary in a Guadalupan sanctuary is thus understood as a concrete way of:

– to receive Mary's message de conversión y confianza en Dios; – to meditate on Incarnation and Redemption, que son el centro del acontecimiento guadalupano; – to unite one's own life with that of Christ, following the simple and confident path of the Virgin.

For this reason, even without any recorded special practices, the Rosary can be considered a privileged expression of Guadalupana devotion also in the context of Old Cuscatlán.