Aparecida – Brasil (Wednesday, 01/07/2015, Gaudium Press) In the year 2014, the Catholic National Shrine of Aparecida received a record number of pilgrims. The number of pilgrims recorded was over 12 million visitors, about 369,000 pilgrims more than in 2013.
In the first half of last year, more than 5 million pilgrims were welcomed, and the largest attendance was during the months of April and May. The high attendance of faithful during the fourth month is mainly due to the Holy Week, when in only five days 250,000 people visited the Shrine.
May, being the month of Mary, large numbers are always expected. During this month, between the 16th and the 18th, 225,000 devotees had the opportunity to enter the Shrine of the Patroness of Brazil
May 17 was one the highlights at the Shrine when the enthronement of the image of Our Lady of Fatima took place. This was part of the celebrations for the jubilee which will happen in 2017. On that year, the 300 anniversary of the finding of the image of Our Lady of Aparecida in the Paraíba do Sul River will coincide with the 100 anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady at Fatima to the three seers, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta.
In the second half of 2014, more than 7 million and 200 thousand pilgrims passed through the Basilica at Aparecida. October 12, the day dedicated to the country’s patron saint, was considered the busiest of the year, and of the past decade, receiving, only on that day, approximately 195,000 pilgrims.
However, the month of November was the busiest ever in the history of the Shrine, receiving a total of more than 1.5 million faithful, a record number in a single month.
In this year, 2015, 49 dioceses will receive the pilgrim image of Our Lady Aparecida, as part of the celebrations for the 300 anniversary. (LMI)
From the Editors Desk at Gaudium Press, with information from A12
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