Our Lady of Good Death

Marian dedication of Goiás (Goiás)

La Church of Good Death is in the city of Goiás, in the state of Goiás, Brazil, former colonial nucleus known as Goiás Velho. This church is dedicated to Our Lady of Good Death (Our Lady of Good Death). The building is from Baroque style and its construction dates from 1779, according to the historical documentation collected in the property inventory. The church is part of the urban and historical ensemble of Goiás, recognized as World Heritage Site por la UNESCO.

Main data

Origin and history

La Church of Good Death is in the city of Goiás, in the state of Goiás, Brazil, former colonial nucleus known as Goiás Velho. This church is dedicated to Our Lady of Good Death (Our Lady of Good Death). The building is from Baroque style and its construction dates from 1779, according to the historical documentation collected in the property inventory. The church is part of the urban and historical ensemble of Goiás, recognized as World Heritage Site por la UNESCO.

From the historical point of view - documented, the church is linked to a Cofradía de la Boa Mortetypical of the secular religiosity of the XVIII- XIX centuries in Brazil, although the sources consulted do not provide precise details about the rules of the brotherhood, its exact date of erection and its founders. In Latin America, the co-fradies under this title are often associated with the Christian preparation for death and the accompaniment of agonizers, but for this particular co-fradia of Goiás there are no specific statutes or descriptions available in the accessible sources.

As to the specific origin of the Marian advocation in this temple (foundational miracles, apparitions, special graces), no constan precise local legends and traditions in the verifiable sources consulted. Nor has documentation been found that explicitly links this advocation to particular historical facts of the city of Goiás beyond the general context of the colonization and parish organization of the time.

Location note: The invocation described here corresponds to Goiás (Brazil). There is no documented Marian advocation equivalent to "Our Lady of Good Death" in a place called Goiás, in the department of Goiás, in Colombia; the geographical reference to Colombia does not appear in the sources consulted and appears to be a confusion of toponyms.

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The image and the sanctuary

The heritage sources identify the temple simply as Church of Good Death (Igreja da Boa Morte), dedicada a Our Lady of Good Death. However, no consta a detailed description of the imagen matriana titular: is not clearly indicated if it is a round package size, an image of clothing, painting, relief or other support, nor its material (wood, plaster, canvas, etc.), nor its authorship, nor a specific iconography (sleep of Mary, Asunción, Piety, etc.). Therefore, any attempt to describe the image in detail would be conjectural and would not meet the required rigour criteria.

As regards sanctuary / temple, la Church of Good Death It's a church. baroque of the 18th century, of plant and facade characteristics of the Brazilian colonial religious architecture. It is part of the historic town of Goiás, declared well protected by the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artística Nacional (IPHAN) in 1950, and later included in the declaration of World Heritage of UNESCO for the urban whole. It is not recorded in the sources consulted which have the title of minor basilica, which is officially established as National sanctuary o diocesan sanctuary; it is a historic church included in the circuit of colonial temples of the city.

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Sponsorship and coronation

Available sources do not mention that Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte is official employer of the city of Goiás, the state of Goiás or some specific diocese. No consta therefore a decree of patronazgo specific civil or ecclesiastical linked to this advocation in the city of Goiás.

With regard to a possible canonical coronation of the image of Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte in the Church of the Good Death of Goiás, in the sources consulted does not contain a documented canonical coronation (no Holy See decrees, no dates, no names of pontifical delegates are indicated). In the absence of verifiable documentation, it is not possible to officially attribute a canonical coronation.

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Party and devotion

In the Latin liturgical calendar, the title "Good Death" is often naturally related to the celebrations of the Transit or Sleep of the Virgin and, especially in the West, Assumption of the Virgin Mary el August 15. However, in the specific case of Good Death Church of Goiásthe available sources do not explicitly specify a official festive date of Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte or describe the detailed development of his celebrations.

The reference to a party between the 13-15 August corresponds to the devotional logic of the claims linked to the "transit" of Mary, but no specific documentary confirmation found for this church in the records consulted. This indication should therefore be considered as undocumented for this particular case.

About pilgrimages organized, number of faithful, processions or popular traditions of their own (such as symbolic velories of the Virgin, night processions, or rites of the consecration of the agonizers), in the concrete for the Church of the Good Death of Goiás in the verified sources. It can be said, in general, that the church is part of the devotional and tourist-religious circuit of the historical center of the city, visited by faithful and visitors who travel their colonial temples, but without quantitative data or detailed descriptions of the specific influx to this advocation.

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Link to the Rosary

The available sources do not indicate a specific and documented relationship between the advocation of Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte in Goiás and the prayer of the Rosary (for example, explicitly rosarian copradies, particular indulgences linked to the Rosary in this sanctuary, or traditions specific to processional rosaries). Therefore, no consta a particular institutionalized link between this advocation and the Rosary beyond general Marian practice.

From a Marian and spiritual perspective, the Rosary The devotion to Our Lady of Good Death is very natural. The glorious mysteriesin particular, they help to contemplate the Transit and the glorification of the Virgin in his Assumption, Christian enlightening the mystery of death as a step into eternal life. The painful mysteries allow us to unite the suffering and agony of Christ with the hope of a "good death" in the grace of God, lived by the hand of Mary. In pastoral practice, it is common for devotion to Good Death to be expressed through the prayer of the Rosary for the agonizers, for the deceased and in Christian preparation for death, although for the Church of Good Death of Goiás this is affirmed here only as a general theological-spiritual reflectionand not as a specific historical data documented for this sanctuary.