Our Lady of Mission

Marian Advocation of Dakar (Dakar)

A Marian advocation documented with the specific title has not been found in available sources "Our Lady of Mission / Notre-Dame de la Mission" linked to the city of Dakar in Senegal, neither as the main Marian sanctuary of the capital nor as a recognized patron of the diocese or of the country; therefore, it is not recorded as an officially established title of Dakar in the consultative documentation (diocese, missionary press, Marian databases and international Catholic press).

Main data

Origin and history

A Marian advocation documented with the specific title has not been found in available sources "Our Lady of Mission / Notre-Dame de la Mission" linked to the city of Dakar in Senegal, neither as the main Marian sanctuary of the capital nor as a recognized patron of the diocese or of the country; therefore, it is not recorded as an officially established title of Dakar in the consultative documentation (diocese, missionary press, Marian databases and international Catholic press).

If it is documented in Senegal a "Marian Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mission" in Ziguinchorin the diocese of the same name, in the south of the country, whose opening was notified by Fides News Agency in December 2010. This sanctuary is linked to the Catholic missionary presence in Casamance and the desire to offer a place of Marian pilgrimage for local communities, in a context of coexistence with the Muslim majority of the country.

The missionary tradition in Senegal (including Dakar) has fostered various forms of Marian devotion (Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Lourdes, etc.), but in the revised sources there is no own history or particular legends associated with a Marian image called "Our Lady of Mission" in Dakar. Consequently, does not contain a specific documented history or a traditional account of this advocation applied to the Senegalese capital..

The image and the sanctuary

Para Dakarno verifiable reference to a sanctuary or specific temple officially designated under the title "Our Lady of Mission / Notre-Dame de la Mission", no description of a specific image venerated under this name in the capital. Therefore, there is no reliable data on the type of image, material, style or iconography that is specific to this advocation in Dakar.

However, the Marian Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Ziguinchor Mission, erected as a place of diocesan Marian pilgrimage, although available sources (such as the Fides Service note) do not provide a detailed description of the image (type of size, material, iconographic features) nor do they specify whether it is a minor basilica or a sanctuary with a national title; it is simply spoken of diocesan "Marian sanctuary." There is no official relationship of this sanctuary with the city of Dakar, beyond sharing the same nation and the religious context of Senegal.

Given the above, for the advocation as proposed - "Our Lady of the Dakar Mission" - there is no documented description of an image or a sanctuary in the capital.

Sponsorship and coronation

In the documentation consulted does not know that "Our Lady of Mission" is an official patron of the city of Dakar, its archdiocese or the Senegalese nation. Nor does it appear among the nationally recognized Marian claims in Senegal in available sources.

On the canonical coronationneither for Dakar nor for the Shrine of Ziguinchor has there been a testimony of decree or celebration of canonical coronation granted by the Pope or his delegate. Accordingly, according to the locable sources, does not contain a documented canonical coronation for this vocation in Senegal.

Party and devotion

For a supposed specific advocation of "Our Lady of the Dakar Mission"no reliable references to a fecha propia de fiesta litúrgicaor to mass pilgrimages or popular traditions specifically linked to this title in the capital.

In the case of Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Ziguinchor Missionthe news of its inauguration indicates its intention to be a center of Marian life for the diocese, but does not specify the date of a particular feast or figures of influx. In general, in Senegal the small Catholic community lives a sober and deeply integrated Marian devotion in a Muslim majority contextwhere peaceful interreligious coexistence and shared respect for Mary as a venerated figure in Islam are frequently highlighted, although with different theological content (general data, not specific to this advocation).

Therefore, does not contain a main feast or devotional traditions of their own exclusively associated with "Our Lady of the Dakar Mission", beyond the general framework of Marian piety in the Senegalese Church.

Link to the Rosary

No documentation has been found that explicitly relate the title "Our Lady of Mission" (neither in Dakar nor in Ziguinchor) with a particular form of prayer of the Rosary (for example, specific co-fradies, national promises, official campaigns linked to this image). Consequently, does not contain a historical or legal link of its own with the Rosary.

However, in the ordinary life of the Church in Senegal, as in many churches in West Africa, the Rosario occupies a central place in popular pietyespecially in small communities, in missions and in simple interreligious meetings where Catholics meet to pray. In a country of Muslim majority where Mary is also respected in the Koran as the mother of Jesus, the Rosary often becomes a school of contemplation of the life of Christ with Mary and a way of asking for peace, coexistence and evangelizing mission, always from respect to non-Christians.

Even if there is no documented link between "Our Lady of Mission" and the Rosary, It is theologically very coherent to understand this advocation in missionary key: the mysteries of the Rosary go through the Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection of the Lord, and support the mission of the Church in contexts such as the Senegalese, where the Christian witness is given in a minority, humble and dialogue, under Mary's eyes.