Our Lady of the Rosary of Arma, patron of the Diocese of Sonson- Rionegro

Marian Advocation of Sonson (Antioquia)

The complete advocation is traditionally known as "Our Lady Santa Maria of the Purple Conception of the Most Holy Rosary of Arma of Rionegro", usually abbreviated as Our Lady of the Rosary of Arma. The image is from Spanish origin y data del 16th century. According to the documentation collected by the diocese and by local studies, the size comes from Madridwhere he would have been in a chapel linked to the king Felipe IIwho donated it for the territory of Weaponin the New Kingdom of Granada.

Main data

Origin and history

The complete advocation is traditionally known as "Our Lady Santa Maria of the Purple Conception of the Most Holy Rosary of Arma of Rionegro", usually abbreviated as Our Lady of the Rosary of Arma. The image is from Spanish origin y data del 16th century. According to the documentation collected by the diocese and by local studies, the size comes from Madridwhere he would have been in a chapel linked to the king Felipe IIwho donated it for the territory of Weaponin the New Kingdom of Granada.

As for the tradition transmitted in the region, it is said that Philip II kept the image in a palatine chapel and, moved by the evangelization of the Indies, sent it as a gift for the city of Santiago de Arma, where he began devotion to the Virgin of the Rosary of Arma. Although these details (exact place of the chapel, specific circumstances of the shipment) belong in part to the field of the pious tradition, there are concords sources to attribute to King Philip II the donation of the image.

La documented history points out that, with the passage of time and changes in the population of the anti-Puerto Rican East, the image ended up establishing itself in a definitive way in Rionegro, despite the demands of the people of Arma. There he was first recognized as a patron of the city and later by a pontifical decree, as Principal Patron of the Diocese of Sonson (today Sonson-Rionegro). Devotion has remained alive for more than four centuries and is a central part of the religious identity of the anti-Puerto Rican East.

The image and the sanctuary

The image of Our Lady of the Rosary of Arma is a polychrome wood size of the 16th century, of Spanish bill. It represents the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus in armsin an attitude proper to the images of the Rosary. It is richly covered and has an important "treasure" of jewels and ornaments, among which is a Imperial crown attributed by tradition to Philip II himself, a piece used in his solemn coronation in 1959.

The image is venerated in a stable way in the catedral de Rionegro (city Santiago de Arma de Rionegro), where it occupies a privileged place in the Major altarfrom whose dressing room she is descended for her annual party. In official acts and in diocesan documentation it is presented as Patron of the Diocese of Sonson-Rionegro, so the Rion-based cathedral is the main center of its veneration at diocesan level. It is not known that the temple has received the title of minor basilica or that there is a recognition of National sanctuaryIt is rather a reference sanctuary. diocesan, linked to the cathedralicia headquarters. There is no formal title of a specific "diocesan sanctuary," beyond its status as a cathedral and center of devotion.

Sponsorship and coronation

Our Lady of the Rosary of Arma is Patron and Queen of the city Santiago de Arma de Rionegro y de la Diocese of Sonson-Rionegroas well as patron in the field of Arma (historical correction). By pontifical decree, it was declared Master Patron in the heavens of the whole Diocese of Sonsonwith the liturgical privileges of diocesan employers. In the civil-symbolic sphere, the Virgin of the Rosary of Arma has also received honorary titles such as “ perpetual president” of the Council of Rionegro and “alcaldesa perpetua” of the city as well as the title of "Generalsima de los Armas de Colombia" in 1999 in Rionegro.

As for the canonical coronationthere are accurate and documented data. In mid- 1958the then bishop Monsignor Alberto Uribe Urdaneta He asked the Vatican chapter for the canonical coronation of the image of the Virgin of the Rosary of Arma. On July 6, 1958, the petition was approved, and the bishop himself was entrusted with coronation. The Pope Juan XXIII He later issued a Brief in which, in addition to confirming the worship, he appointed Our Lady of the Rosary of Arma as the Chief Patron of the Diocese of Sonson.

The solemn coronation ceremony was held at 8 February 1959in the main park of Rionegro, chaired by the Nuncio Apostolic Paolo Bertoli, pontifical delegate for the act. Before civil, military, ecclesiastical authorities and a large number of faithful, the nuncio imposed the gold crowns and pebbles on the Virgin and the Child. The imperial crown used in the ceremony, along with the gold, silver and precious stones aureolas, is part of the vative treasure of the image.

Party and devotion

La main party of Our Lady of the Rosary of Arma is celebrated the September 8, coinciding with the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. On that day, the image is lowered from its dressing room on the main altar of the cathedral and a Solemn procession the streets of Rionegro, followed by a Solemn Eucharist to which thousands of faithful from the anti-Puerto Rican East come. diocesan sources describe this celebration as a sign of "filial love" for the Mother of God, deeply rooted in the spiritual identity of the diocese.

The devotion is characterized by a strong participation of parish, priests, religious and lay communities, who come in pilgrimages a Rionegro for the patron party and other Marian celebrations. On the civic and religious level, the Virgin of the Rosary of Arma occupies a central place in regional history: her presence is associated with favors, protection and comfort in difficult times, which explains the many honorary titles she has received.

Although the festive nature of the image is celebrated on September 8, the advocation is also linked to the spiritual climate of the month of the Rosary (October) in the universal Church, so that many communities of the Anti-Puerto Rican East invoke it in a special way during the Rosarian celebrations of that month (this is inferred by their own rosarian advocation and common Catholic practice; there is no specific standard).

Link to the Rosary

The relationship of this advocation with the Rosary is essential, beginning with the same title: "of the Most Holy Rosary of Arma." Historically, around the image existed the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary, which is among the first cofradies of the East of Puerto Rico; it is known that its constitutions were renewed in 1776, which shows the antiquity and root of the prayer of the Rosary linked to this image. The configuration of the advocation and its veneration has been closely linked to the community and family practice of the Rosary, which is characteristic of the colonial Marian spirituality.

The diocesan sources emphasize that the Virgin of the Rosary of Arma has "for centuries" accompanied the spiritual history of the diocese, being a sign of comfort, protected