On Saturday, August 15th, the Sanctuary of Health and Peace in Belo Horizonte celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of the Abbey of Água Suja. On this date, the Church throughout the world celebrates the Assumption of Our Lady, and in some places, under various titles.

The celebration in the capital of Minas Gerais is part of the Padre Eustáquio Month festivities. The Dutch priest, upon arriving in Brazil, was appointed parish priest of Água Suja (now Romaria, in the Triângulo Mineiro region). There, he oversaw the construction of the Sanctuary, which receives over 100,000 devotees every year during the festival. (read more about the story of Father Eustace). In 2019, the church in Belo Horizonte received a replica of the Romaria image, and since then, it has been part of the celebrations here.

The origin of the devotion

The devotion to Our Lady of the Abbey originates from Portugal. The image of Our Lady of the Abbey is quite old, coming from the Monastery of Bouro, located in the municipality of Amares, Portugal. For this reason, she is also called Saint Mary of Bouro. The Monastery of Bouro already existed in that region around the year 883. At that time, Portugal and Spain had been invaded by the Moors, who professed the Muslim religion. Fearing the Moors, the monks abandoned the Monastery and, to avoid the desecration of the image of the Blessed Virgin, hid it.

After many centuries, during the time of Count Henry, the nobleman Pelágio Amado abandoned his worldly life and became a hermit. He went to live with an old hermit in the hermitage of São Miguel, near Braga.

One night, in a valley near the hermitage, the hermits saw a very bright light shining. The following night, they noticed that the event repeated itself. When dawn broke, they went to the place, where they found a Marian image among the stones. Filled with joy, they prostrated themselves before the image and, grateful, began to venerate the Virgin Mary in it.

Many devout hermits moved to that location and built a simple hermitage there, where they placed the image. Having learned of this, the Archbishop of Braga went to visit the image in that hermitage. Moved by the poverty of the hermits, the bishop ordered that a church be built to house the image. The church was built of hewn stone.

Gradually, other religious figures came to live with the two hermits, establishing an abbey. With the increase in miracles performed through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the devotion spread and became known throughout the country. King Afonso Henriques made his pilgrimage to the church, where he left a generous donation for the upkeep of the worship and the monks.

In Romaria-MG

The biggest festival takes place in the municipality of Romaria. Our Lady of the Abbey She is the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Uberaba and the city, officially recognized by Law 10.196 of August 15, 2008, in Minas Gerais, and is the titular saint of the city's cathedral. Thus, devotion to her is quite strong and deeply rooted. There is the beautiful and pious Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Abbey, which was inaugurated in 1881. Her image was brought from Rio de Janeiro. The feast day on August 15th attracts the people of Uberaba and devotees from the region, with approximately 100,000 people participating in the religious ceremonies with great piety.

This year, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, all celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the devotion in that region were held online. Faithful from various parts of Brazil and the world were able to follow along and feel a little bit like they were at the Sanctuary in Romaria-MG.

Source: Vice-postulation of the Cause of Canonization of Father Eustáquio with information taken from wikipedia.org