Our Lady of the Island of Solin

Marian Advocation of Solin (Dalmatia)

La advocación de Our Lady of the Island of Solin (Gospa od Otoka) is linked to the small river islet called Gospin otok ("island of the Virgin"), formed by the arms of the river Core, in Solin, very close to Split, on the territory of the ancient Roman city of Salona. In this place one of the oldest cores of the Croatian settlement in the Dalmata region is considered to have emerged.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of the Island of Solin (Gospa od Otoka) is linked to the small river islet called Gospin otok ("island of the Virgin"), formed by the arms of the river Core, in Solin, very close to Split, on the territory of the ancient Roman city of Salona. In this place one of the oldest cores of the Croatian settlement in the Dalmata region is considered to have emerged.

Documented history. The local sources indicate that on this islot was raised the one that is considered the first Marian santuary of Croatia, founded in the 10th century The historical tradition, collected by tourism and cultural dissemination agencies of Solin, states that the Croatian queen Jelena (Helena) had two churches built there: one dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and another San Esteban (Sv Stropan). From this complex the Marian cult was consolidated in the area, and Gospin otok became a significant focus of devotion to the Virgin in the nascent Croatian kingdom.

Tradition and religious memory. On this historical basis the consideration of the place has developed as "cradle" of Croatian Marian devotion and as a sanctuary where the Virgin is especially venerated as Queen of Croatia, in continuity with the memory of the medieval Christian royalty and the ancient Roman Salona, which was important Christian center in Antiquity. This dimension of "cradle" and "royalty" mainly belongs to popular devotional and theological language, rather than to a specific legal definition.

The image and the sanctuary

The advocation is venerated in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Solin (en croata, Crkva Blažene Djevice Marije u Solinu), also designated as a church of Our Lady of the Island / Islot (Sv. Marija, Gospa od Otoka). The temple is located on the islet of the Jadro River, surrounded by its arms, which gives name to the advocation.

The sources consulted do not provide accurate, verified data on the image type (gavel a pincture) he material or the full details of your iconography, beyond that it is a Marian image venerated under the title of Our Lady of the Island. Therefore, no consta a detailed technical description of the image (size, artistic style, author, exact chronology).

The sanctuary rises, according to historical tradition, on the place of the ancient churches founded in the 10th century by Queen Jelena, in the area that preserves the memory of the ancient Salona. The accessible documentation does not indicate that the temple has the title of minor basilica, has been formally declared National sanctuaryis presented above all as the oldest Marian shrine in Croatia and as a parish church of remarkable historical and devotional importance. There is no specific official proclamation as "national sanctuary" or similar in the sources consulted.

Sponsorship and coronation

The title of Otoka Gospa has a strong local roots in Solin and in the Split; tradition closely links it to the Christian and historical identity of the Dalmata region and to the memory of the old Croatian kingdom. Invocation is highly estimated in Croatia as one of the references of its oldest Marian devotion, but in the sources consulted no consta an explicit formal declaration of canonical patronage (for example, as the main patron of the city or of the diocese) with specific decree and date.

As for the canonical coronationthe Marian and tourist sources that describe the advocation do not record a documented canonical coronation (with decree of the Holy See or of the competent ordinary, with date and coronating authority). Therefore, at the date of the collection of these sources, does not contain a documented canonical coronation for the image of Our Lady of the Island of Solin.

Party and devotion

The available sources described by Gospin otok and the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Solin do not clearly indicate the exact date of the main party is typical of this advocation (for example, a specific solemnity of "Our Lady of the Island"). Therefore, no consta with certain documented a particular liturgical date linked exclusively to this title, beyond the great common Marian parties (such as the Assumption or the Nativity of Mary), very rooted in Croatian piety.

The peregrinational importance of the place: it is the oldest Marian shrine in Croatialocated in a symbolic enclave (on the old Salona settlement and the first Croatian settlement in the area), which makes it a destination of faithful who wish to honor the Virgin and, at the same time, to come into contact with the Christian and historical roots of the country. Devotion is expressed in the arraigo of the title Otoka Gospa in local religious life, in Marian pilgrimages and celebrations, although the sources consulted do not provide specific figures of influx or quantitative details.

Devotional practices generally include participation in the Eucharist, the veneration of the Virgin in her sanctuary and personal and family prayer, in continuity with the Croatian Catholic tradition, deeply Marian.

Link to the Rosary

The specific sources of Our Lady of the Island of Solin (Gospa od Otoka) no recogen una particular and documented relationship between this invocation and a unique practice of Holy Rosary (for example, historical co-fradies of the Rosary, promises or apparitions explicitly related to this mode of prayer). Therefore, no consta a special historical link of the title with the Rosary that can be described with precise data.

However, Croatia is a country of strong Marian tradition, and in its ecclesial life the Rosary It occupies a central place as a simple and deep prayer to contemplate with Mary the mysteries of Christ. In a sanctuary that is considered the cradle of Croatian Marian devotionthe prayer of the Rosary is naturally inserted into the piety of the faithful: it helps to travel, along with the venerated Virgin Queen of Croatiathe history of salvation and to unite the memory of the Christian origins of the nation with the daily life of the families, parishes and pilgrims who come to Gospin otok to entrust themselves to the intercession of Mary.