Our Lady of the Assumption of Baracoa

Marian Advocation of Baracoa (Guantánamo)

La advocación de Our Lady of the Assumption of Baracoa is linked to the very origin of the city, for Baracoa was founded by the Spanish 15 August 1511 with the name of Villa of Our Lady of the Assumption of Baracoa. This date explains the old link between the foundational memory of the villa and the liturgical feast of the Assumption of Mary.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of the Assumption of Baracoa is linked to the very origin of the city, for Baracoa was founded by the Spanish 15 August 1511 with the name of Villa of Our Lady of the Assumption of Baracoa. This date explains the old link between the foundational memory of the villa and the liturgical feast of the Assumption of Mary.

In the available divulgative documentation, the parish / cathedral appears as one of the oldest churches in Cuba and as the central temple of the city, built in the city center during 1803; other popular references place their building in 1807, but that data is not equally supported by the same sources, and the discrepancy should therefore be recorded. Local tradition links this temple with the first Hispanic settlement of the island and with the continuity of Marian devotion in Baracoa.

The image and the sanctuary

The sources consulted identify the temple as the Parish of Our Lady of the Assumption of Baracoa, also known as Concathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption or, in some repertories, like Baracoa Cathedral. It is a temple located in the historic center of the city, opposite the Independence Park, of colonial architecture and of remarkable heritage value.

A precise and complete description of the image holder - type, material or iconography - so it is not safe to state it in detail. It is, however, clear that the temple keeps the famous Cruz de la Parra, tradition associated with Cristóbal Colón and considered one of the most significant historical pieces in the whole. It is not known that the temple has in the sources mentioned the category of lower basilica; it does appear as concatedral.

Sponsorship and coronation

Our Lady of the Assumption is the patron of the city of Baracoa, linked to the very founding name of the villa. The sources consulted do not contain an additional diocesan or national patronage clearly documented for this advocation.

No consta una documented canonical coronation in the verified sources for this specific image or advocation.

Party and devotion

La main party se celebra el August 15, solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, date that coincides with the historical foundation of the villa. This coincidence has given the Baracoense devotion a strong identity character, uniting liturgy, urban memory and local tradition.

The sources consulted highlight the relevance of the temple as an emblematic place of the historical centre and as a religious focus of the city, although they do not provide reliable quantitative data on the influx of pilgrims. It does show the persistence of a local devotion associated with the parish / cathedral and Marian veneration around the feast of August 15.

Link to the Rosary

The verified sources do not contain a specific historical link of this advocation with public co-fradies, rosaries or unique rosarian practices specific to Baracoa. Even so, Mary's Assumption is naturally seen within the spirituality of the Rosary, because this prayer accompanies the meditation of the mysteries of Christ's life and the glorification of the Virgin, culminating in the hope of her full participation in the Lord's Passover.