Our Lady Auxiliary of Zaplaz

Marian title of Čatež (Baja Carniola)

According to the local traditionthe place of Zaplaz soon became a site of Marian prayer thanks to a modest chapel dedicated to Maria Auxiliadora raised on the hill, in the midst of forests and vineyards, where the faithful came to ask for help in diseases and family difficulties. The fame of the favors received and of the prayers attended made the small hill sanctuary one of the most loved Marian centers in the Baja Carniola region. They do not contain, in accessible sources, precise accounts of concrete foundational apparitions or miracles, but rather a accumulation of graces attributed to the intercession of the Virgin Helper in that place.

Main data

Origin and history

According to the local traditionthe place of Zaplaz soon became a site of Marian prayer thanks to a modest chapel dedicated to Maria Auxiliadora raised on the hill, in the midst of forests and vineyards, where the faithful came to ask for help in diseases and family difficulties. The fame of the favors received and of the prayers attended made the small hill sanctuary one of the most loved Marian centers in the Baja Carniola region. They do not contain, in accessible sources, precise accounts of concrete foundational apparitions or miracles, but rather a accumulation of graces attributed to the intercession of the Virgin Helper in that place.

As for the documented historythe present church of pilgrimage of Zaplaz is described as the most important Marian pilgrimage center in Dolenjska / Baja Carniola, built on the Zaplaz hill, above the town of Čatež, in the south-east of Slovenia. The sources of official tourism of Slovenia highlight its character as a pilgrimage sanctuary, without providing detailed construction dates or precise time data on the evolution of the cult in Zaplaz. The development of the sanctuary is part of the expansion of devotion to Marija Pomočnica (Maria Auxiliadora) in Slovenia, particularly alive in the 19th and 20th centuries, although the specific data on the initial stage of the temple of Zaplaz are not recorded in the sources consulted.

The image and the sanctuary

La Zaplaz pilgrimage church, dedicada a Maria Auxiliadora (Maria Pomočnica), rises on a hill with wide views, in the middle of the green landscape of Dolenjska, and is officially described as a "imposing church" and the "most important pilgrimage center of Mary Helper in Dolenjska." It is a large temple for the rural environment, visible from a distance, that crown the Zaplaz hill over Čatež. The available sources do not mention that they have the title of minor basilica nor that it has been declared a national sanctuary; it is presented above all as a regional pilgrimage sanctuary within the Lower Carniola.

On the image of Our Lady Zaplaz Helper, accessible sources do not provide a detailed description of their material, ni de su authoror the particular iconographic elements (child position, attributes, crown, etc.). It does not include, in the documentation consulted, a size, painting or other image specifically related to Zaplaz. Given the Slovenian context and the advocation, it is likely that it will present itself to Mary as the Help of Christianswith the Child Jesus and regious symbols, following the general iconography of Mary Helper, but that concrete detail not documented for the image of Zaplaz in the sources consulted.

Sponsorship and coronation

The Zaplaz hill, with its church, is presented as the main pilgrimage center dedicated to Mary Helper in the region of Dolenjska / Baja Carniola. This indicates a de facto patronage over the area and its faithful, who come there as their reference Marian sanctuary. However, the information consulted does not mention an explicit decree which officially declares it the patron of the diocese or of the whole of Slovenia; this national role is more clearly attributed to Mary Auxiliadora de Brezje.

On a canonical coronation of the image of Our Lady Zaplaz's Helper, does not contain a documented canonical coronation in available sources. In Slovenia, the coronation of the image of Mary Auxiliadora de Brezje in 1907 by Bishop Anton Bonaventura Jeglič is documented, but there is no equivalent data for the advocation of Zaplaz.

Party and devotion

The documentation consulted does not provide the fecha propia de fiesta litúrgica of Our Lady Zaplaz's Helper. In Slovenia, devotion to Mary Helper is very linked to May 24, memory of Mary Help of Christians in the Roman calendar, the day when Mary Help is also celebrated as patron of the country, especially in Brezje. It is reasonable to think that the liturgical life of the Zaplaz shrine is integrated on that same Marian date, but, for Zaplaz in particular, that data no consta in accessible sources.

The Zaplaz shrine is described as a place of pilgrimage very busy from the region, where faithful come from all Dolenjska for solemn masses, parish pilgrimages and Marian celebrations. The location on the hill, with wide views, favours the great concentrations of pilgrims, especially at the main Marian parties and in good weather. No flow figures or specific popular traditions (specific processions, people's votes, etc.) are provided, so such data no constan with precision in the sources consulted.

Link to the Rosary

The specific sources of Our Lady Auxiliary of Zaplaz no documentan una particular or historical relationship with the prayer of the Rosary (for example, the Rosary's cofradies or the rosarian processions of the sanctuary); therefore, that particular connection no consta.

However, as in most Marian shrines of pilgrimage, the Rosary occupies a central place in the piety of the faithful: it is the most widespread Marian prayer among pilgrims and is usually integrated into visits to the sanctuary, Marian vigil and processions. In a place dedicated to Maria AuxiliadoraThe Rosary naturally becomes a school of subsidiary trust: by meditating on the mysteries of Christ's life with Mary, the faithful learn to come to it as "the help of Christians" in all needs, joining their personal supplication to the memory of God's works in the history of salvation. In this way, although there is no specific rosarian tradition documented for Zaplaz, the Rosary He organically accompanies the devotion to Our Lady Helper who lives there.