Our Lady of Aparecida
12 October 2026 — May one small candle light your way tonight.
Every year on 12 October, Brazil honors Our Lady of Aparecida, its patroness. According to tradition, in 1717 three fishermen, Domingos Garcia, Felipe Pedroso and João Alves, were fishing in the Paraíba do Sul River near Guaratinguetá. Their net first brought up a headless statue and then its head. The statue, an image of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, was dark in color, and the men's catch afterwards was said to be abundant. She became known as Aparecida, meaning „the one who appeared“. In 1930 Pope Pius XI declared her patron saint of Brazil, and since 1980 the day has been a national holiday. Pilgrims travel to the National Shrine in the city of Aparecida, one of the largest Catholic shrines in the world. Candles, flowers and prayers are part of the devotion. The day also coincides with Children's Day in Brazil. The date is fixed – every year on 12 October.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver figure made of luminous dots and fine lines, like a constellation: a single candle flame wrapped in a flowing starry mantle that drifts slowly across the night sky
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