Tomorrow, August 15th, the Church celebrates the Assumption of Our Lady. In some Brazilian cities, it will be a holiday so that devotees can celebrate the feast of their patron saint. At the Sanctuary of Health and Peace in Belo Horizonte, the celebration will be dedicated to Our Lady of the Abbey of Água Suja, a devotion of Blessed Father Eustáquio. The celebrations are part of the Father Eustáquio Month program, which commemorates the 80th anniversary of the religious figure's death.

At the Church of Blessed Father Eustáquio in Belo Horizonte, there will be masses at 7 am, 5 pm, and 7 pm. Immediately after the 5 pm mass, devotees will take to the streets of the neighborhood in a procession with the image of Our Lady of the Abbey (a replica of the original, brought from the Triângulo Mineiro region). The day will also feature food stalls starting at 4 pm.

Upon arriving in Brazil in 1925, Father Eustáquio and two other priests went on missions to cities in the Triângulo Mineiro region, one of them being Água Suja (now the city of Romaria), where there was already a devotion inherited from the Portuguese to Our Lady of the Abbey. There, Father Eustáquio built the current Sanctuary, which annually receives thousands of people for the festival on August 15th.

Referring to this devotion of Father Eustáquio, devotees in Belo Horizonte will hold a grand celebration. The festivities, which begin this Tuesday, will continue throughout the rest of the month, commemorating Father Eustáquio. On Saturday the 19th, a large concert with the Cantores de Deus (Singers of God) is planned inside the church, featuring songs by the group as well as compositions by Father Zezinho, SCJ.

Let us together pray for health and peace for ourselves and our families, through the intercession of Father Eustáquio and Our Lady of the Abbey. As the Blessed One said: "Help us, Our Lady of the Abbey!"“