Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces

Marian devotion of Saint Mary (Rio Grande do Sul)

La advocación de Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces is inserted in the Catholic reflection on the maternal mediation of Mary, always understood in subordination to Christ, the only Mediator. The Marian title is widely attested to in Catholic tradition and theology, and was assumed by the Magisterial language in various texts on Mary's unique cooperation in the work of salvation.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces is inserted in the Catholic reflection on the maternal mediation of Mary, always understood in subordination to Christ, the only Mediator. The Marian title is widely attested to in Catholic tradition and theology, and was assumed by the Magisterial language in various texts on Mary's unique cooperation in the work of salvation.

In the specific case of Our Lady Median of All Graces en Santa María (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), the documented history of the Jesuit sanctuary starts in 1928, when the local cult began to be configured around this advocation. The great annual Romeria of Medianeira, today one of the most visible expressions of devotion, was consolidated as a popular tradition around the Second Sunday of November.

The sources provided do not show a widely documented miraculous founding tradition for this local devotion; therefore, it is important to distinguish it from the verifiable history of the sanctuary and the subsequent devotional expansion.

The image and the sanctuary

The veneration focuses on the image of Our Lady Median of All Graces custodiada en la Basilica Shrine of Our Lady Medianin Santa Maria. The available sources do not contain a complete and secure technical description of the image - specific type, material or iconographic details - and it is therefore not prudent to add unverified data.

The temple is identified as Basilica Shrine of Our Lady Median y es un Jesuit sanctuary linked to local devotion since 1928. In the sources provided it is not certain whether it also has the specific qualification of a national or diocesan sanctuary; it is also known as a basic sanctuary and its strong Jesuit pastoral imprint.

Sponsorship and coronation

Our Median Lady of All Graces is patrona del Estado de Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). The sources consulted do not contain an additional municipal or diocesan patronage with the same degree of security.

On the canonical coronation, does not contain a documented canonical coronation in the sources provided.

Party and devotion

The great popular party is held at the Romeria de la Medianeira, fijada en el Second Sunday of November. This date marks the main moment of the local devotional calendar and brings together the pilgrimage to the Basilica-shrine of Santa Maria.

The available sources highlight the pilgrimage and popular veneration, but do not provide verified flow figures for this data sheet. Therefore, there is no reliable number of pilgrims or attendees here; however, devotion has a strong regional implantation and a multitudinary character around the annual celebration.

Link to the Rosary

It does not contain in the sources provided an exclusive or particular historical link of this advocation with the prayer of the Rosary. However, the Marian relationship is fully consistent with the spirituality of the Rosary, because this prayer with Mary contemplates the mysteries of Christ and expresses precisely that subordinate maternal mediation that the Catholic tradition attributes to the Virgin.

In a devotional form, it can be said with rigour that the Rosary naturally accompanies this advocation: by invoking Mary as Median of all gracesThe faithful contemplate her as a mother who leads to Christ and has the heart to receive his gifts.