Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazu of Guasdualito, patron of Guasdualito

Marian Advocation of Guasdualito (Apure)

En la TRADICIÓN general vasco-american it is said that devotion to Our Lady of Aránzazu, originally from the Marian shrine of the same name in Guipúzcoa (Basque Country), he would have arrived in various regions of Latin America, accompanying Basque settlers and religious of Franciscan provinces linked to northern Spain. According to this same tradition, in some places the image would have been enriched with the Rosary, giving rise to the composite advocation "Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazu"as an expression of the piety of the preacher orders (especially Dominican) or of Basque families very linked to this devotion.

Main data

Origin and history

En la TRADICIÓN general vasco-american it is said that devotion to Our Lady of Aránzazu, originally from the Marian shrine of the same name in Guipúzcoa (Basque Country), he would have arrived in various regions of Latin America, accompanying Basque settlers and religious of Franciscan provinces linked to northern Spain. According to this same tradition, in some places the image would have been enriched with the Rosary, giving rise to the composite advocation "Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazu"as an expression of the piety of the preacher orders (especially Dominican) or of Basque families very linked to this devotion.

En la HISTORIA DOCUMENTADA, the most clearly attested presence of Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazu in Venezuela is in Santa Rita, state of Zuliawhere a former Marian altarpiece of Basque origin is preserved, carried by members of the Guipuzcoana Company in the 18th century. The church was erected in 1806 under his patronage, and the parish church today bears the title of Parish Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazuin the diocese of Caimas. Stop Guasdualito (Apure)on the other hand, no constan in reliable open sources (diocesan, parish, Wikipedia, Catholic press) verifiable historical data of a parish, sanctuary or official patronage under the title "Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazu."

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The image and the sanctuary

As for the iconografía general of the advocation, the image of Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazu that is precisely documented in Santa Rita (Zulia) is an anonymous work of the 18th century, of Hispanic-colonial style, that presents the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus y el Rosary later incorporated into the altarpiece, associated with Dominican spirituality. It is a polychrome wooden altarpiece, restored in recent times, which forms part of the artistic heritage of the local parish.

For a specific image in Guasdualito, no consta in sources consulted a reliable description of the type of size (package, relief, painting), material (wood, plaster, canvas) or specific iconographic details (crowns, scapulars, angels, side scenes, etc.). A Marian “sanctuary” of with the title Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazu in Guasdualito, neither as a minor basilica, nor as a national or diocesan sanctuary. For Zulia, the Church / Parish Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazu in Santa Rita, belonging to the diocese of Caimas, recently rehabilitated and reopened for parish veneration.

For the lack of verifiable data, applied to Guasdualito, it can only be strictly stated that in the document the existence of a Marian sanctuary recognized with this advocation.

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Sponsorship and coronation

In available sources, no consta an official declaration recognizing Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazu how canonical patron of Guasdualito (whether in the Venezuelan or Colombian part of the border area) or as patron of a diocese linked to that city. The local patronage of the advocation on the city of Santa Rita (State of Zulia, Venezuela)where it is clearly called "local patron" and celebrated with great popular roots.

About a possible canonical coronation of a titled image Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazu en Guasdualito, does not contain a documented canonical coronation nor are references to pontifical decrees, diocesan coronation acts or papal delegates who have presided over such rite there. There is also no specific canonical coronation for the image of Santa Rita (Zulia) in the sources consulted; there is talk of strong devotion and of its status as local patron, but without mention of formal canonical coronation.

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Party and devotion

The Basque advocation of Our Lady of Aránzazu (in its original shrine of Guipúzcoa) has as its main festive date the 9 Septemberwith great pilgrimages and celebrations in the Basque Country. However, in various places in America where the composite devotion has spread "Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazu", the celebration tends to integrated into the Rosary calendarin particular around the 7 October, memory of Our Lady of the Rosary, with novenas, processions and "down" of the image, as is seen in Santa Rita (Zulia).

Para Guasdualitothe information provided in the consultation indicates the 7 October as a party, but in accessible sources is not documented (i.e., it is not confirmed in diocesan, parish or Catholic press sites that can be identified for that location). No reliable data on inflow of pilgrims, organization of romaneries, specific promises or popular traditions of Guasdualito linked to this advocation.

On the other hand, in Santa Rita (Zulia), celebrations with the low image, serenades, Marian songs and solemn liturgical acts, expressing a strong popular Marian fervor around the "Virgin of the Rosary of Aranzazú," recognized there as a patron. These features give a reference to how devotion to this advocation is often lived in Venezuelan contexts, although they cannot move without direct proof to the case of Guasdualito.

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Link to the Rosary

In the history of the advocation in Venezuela, the incorporation of Rosary to the image of Our Lady of Aránzazu is a well documented data for the case of Santa Rita (Zulia): they were missionaries, linked to Dominican spirituality, who added the Rosary to the altarpiece, so that devotion became explicitly named "Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazu". This evolution shows how the prayer of the Rosary was bound in a stable way to this Marian advocation, integrating the Basque tradition with the rosarian piety spread by the preaching orders.

For a specific practice of the Rosary in Guasdualito linked to "Our Lady of the Rosary of Aránzazu," no consta information in the sources consulted (party programs, own novenas, co-fradies of the Rosary associated with this advocation in the city). In the absence of data, only a Marian reflection of a general nature can be made: in every titled advocation "of the Rosary"the frequent prayer of the Holy Rosary is presented as a privileged means to contemplate the mysteries of the life of Christ with the eyes of Mary, to ask for his intercession and to sustain the faith of the communities, especially in contexts of cold