Our Lady of the Remedies of Old, venerated in the church of the Remedies

Marian devotion of Antigua Guatemala (Sacatepéquez)

On the specific advocation of Our Lady of the Remedies of Old, venerated in the church of Los Remedios in the present Antigua Guatemala (ancient Santiago de Guatemala), the accessible information is scarce and fragmented, and there is no official synthesis in ecclesial sources of easy consultation. Consequently, many key data are not verifiable and should be expressly marked as such.

Main data

Origin and history

On the specific advocation of Our Lady of the Remedies of Old, venerated in the church of Los Remedios in the present Antigua Guatemala (ancient Santiago de Guatemala), the accessible information is scarce and fragmented, and there is no official synthesis in ecclesial sources of easy consultation. Consequently, many key data are not verifiable and should be expressly marked as such.

In the historical context, devotion to the Virgin of the Remedies He arrived very soon in America along with the Spanish conquerors, being a highly linked advocation to the Hispanic world since the late 15th century and widely spread in Spain and then in the Indias. This early presence explains that, in addition to the famous devotion to the Virgin of the Rosary in Santiago de Guatemala, there were other Marian images linked to the first inhabitants, including the Our Lady of Remedieswith their own cofradies, as was the case in various colonial cities. However, for the concrete image of Los Remedios in Antigua Guatemala no constanin the sources consulted, precise dates of erection of the fellowship, foundational acts and detailed chronological documents.

From the perspective of the documented history, the advocation of the Remedies is generally recognized by historiography as one of the "of glory" Marian devotions associated with the period of conquest and the first Spanish cities in America. The presence of a temple dedicated to Our Lady of the Remedies in Ancient Guatemala is inserted with truth in this context of the piety of the conquerors and the organization of co-fradies, but no constan, in the sources consulted, specific documents (such as royal ballots, episcopal decrees or detailed descriptions in chronicles) on the foundation of the temple and the concrete fellowship of this image of the Ancient.

As to possible local traditions or legends on miraculous foundation, prodigious finding of the image or special intervention of the Virgin of Remedies in episodes of the conquest of Guatemala, no constan in available verified sources. Since many claims of Remedies in America have indeed generated pious accounts of military aid or protection in times of epidemics, it is likely that there are oral or devotional narrations at the local level, but these not documented in the sources consulted and therefore cannot be collected rigorously.

The image and the sanctuary

On the concrete image of Our Lady of Remedies venerated in the Church of Remedies in Antigua Guatemala, on safe dates in accessible sources for:

– Tipo de imagen (escultura de bulto, talla de vestir, óleo sobre lienzo, etc.). – Material (madera policromada, estuco, tela encolada, pintura, etc.). – Iconografía específica (si porta al Niño, atributos particulares, colores habituales de las vestiduras, etc.).

As regards sanctuary / templeonly the following can be said with certainty:

– Se trata de una church dedicated to Our Lady of Remedies en la ciudad de La Antigua Guatemala, en el actual departamento de Sacatepéquez (Guatemala). – En las fuentes consultadas no se ha encontrado referencia acreditada a que este templo tenga el título de minor basilica, ni que haya was formally erected as National sanctuary o diocesan Marian shrine. It should therefore be indicated: does not record the existence of an official title of minor basilica or national / diocesan sanctuary for this church in accessible documentation.

Nor do they contain, in the verified sources, precise architectural descriptions (style, date of construction, restorations, prominent elements of the interior), nor official information of the corresponding diocese or archdiocese to provide a more detailed profile of the temple.

Sponsorship and coronation

– Patronage: It is not known that Our Lady of the Remedies of Ancient has been officially proclaimed. patron of the city, the municipality, the diocese or a specific civil or military institution in documents of canonical or civil rank. There may be a local or "popular" type of patronage, as is the case with many neighborhood or parish advocacy, but it does not appear in accessible official sources. It should therefore be indicated: no official documented canonical patronage for this advocation in Antigua Guatemala.

– Canon coronation: No reference to a canonical coronation (neither pontifical nor diocesan) of this specific image of Our Lady of the Remedies of Antigua in the material consulted, unlike other Guatemalan Marian images whose coronation acts are clearly documented. Accordingly, according to the above rules, the following must be stated: "does not contain a documented canonical coronation" for this advocation.

Party and devotion

At the universal level, the invocation of the Virgin of the Remedies has its liturgical party usually the September 8, coinciding with the Nativity of the Virgin. However, many localities adapt the date according to their own traditions and local calendars. For the concrete advocation of Our Lady of the Remedies of Old, is not certain the date of a main party in the sources consulted (neither in accessible diocesan documentation, nor in general repertories of Marian advocacy).

This fact sheet should therefore state:

– Date of main party: does not contain a documented main date of celebration para Nuestra Señora de los Remedios de La Antigua en las fuentes verificadas. – Pilgrimage and inflow: no constan datos oficiales ni estadísticos de peregrinaciones masivas, romerías anuales u otras manifestaciones multitudinarias específicas ligadas a esta imagen. Es posible que exista una devoción parroquial o de barrio, con celebraciones propias, pero no hay datos publicados con rigor suficiente sobre afluencia, procesiones u otras tradiciones populares concretas. – Devotional traits: in the absence of specific information, it can only be said that the advocation of the Remedies, in general, is traditionally associated with the Mary's intercession in serious and urgent needs, both personal and community, and to the memory of the spiritual "remedies" that Mary reaches from Christ for the faithful. It is reasonable to assume that these spiritual features are also present in the devotional experience of the faithful linked to the Church of the Remedies in the Old, even though there are no specific descriptions of local piety.

Link to the Rosary

In the sources consulted no consta a specific historical or regulatory relationship between the Our Lady of the Remedies of Old and the prayer of Rosary (e.g. obligation of cofrades, particular indulgences, processions of rosary of this image, etc.).

However, in the Marian tradition of Guatemala and the whole of Latin America, the Rosary has been one of the main ways of spreading and taking root of the desires of glory, along with the preaching and the co-fradies. The Rosary, by meditating on the mysteries of Christ's life with Mary, becomes a "spiritual itinerary" that accompanies and potentiates any legitimate Marian devotion:

– Permite contemplar a María como Mother used to bring the remedy of Christ a las necesidades del pueblo de Dios, especialmente en los misterios de la Encarnación y de la Redención. – Ayuda a los fieles a unir sus propias “necesidades y remedios” a la oración de la Iglesia, confiándose a la intercesión de la Virgen bajo todas sus advocaciones. – Integra esta devoción particular en la gran corriente de la Marian spirituality of the Rosarywhich has deeply marked the Catholic identity in Guatemala, especially since the evangelizing work of the Dominicans.

Therefore, even if there is no specific historical link documented between Our Lady of the Remedies of the Old One