Today’s
The World Around Us
will be presented
in Portuguese,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English, French,
German, Hungarian,
Indonesian,
Japanese, Korean,
Malay, Persian,
Portuguese, Russian,
Spanish, and Thai.
Welcome to today’s
The World Around Us,
noble viewers.
In this episode, we’ll
visit the Sanctuary of
Our Lady of Aparecida,
Brazil, a place of
many miraculous stories
since 1717.
The National Sanctuary
of Our Lady of
Aparecida, located
in the Paraíba Valley
between the states of
São Paulo and
Rio de Janeiro,
is the world’s
largest Marian shrine.
This valley,
divided by the waters
of the Paraíba River,
is the site of the
appearance of Our Lady.
In 1717, the image of
Our Lady mysteriously
was found at the Port of
Itaguaçu to three
humble men in a boat:
Domingos Garcia,
Filipe Pedroso
and João Alves.
Since this inexplicable
appearance, the image of
Our Lady of Conception
came to be known as
“Aparecida” which
means “Appearing.”
A very important
information is that
it wasn’t the
city of Aparecida
that gave the name
to the image of Our Lady,
but it was
this apparition of
the image in the river
that gave the name
Aparecida to the city.
When we go to Fatima,
we venerate the
image of Our Lady
of Fatima.
Here in Aparecida,
we pay homage
to the image of
Our Lady Aparecida,
that is, Our Lady who
appeared in the waters
of Paraíba River, giving
the name to the city
and making this city
of Aparecida
a grander place.
Later, many miracles
relating to the image
of Our Lady occurred in
the lives of local people.
Devotion further grew
among them, and many
prayed before the image.
The fame of
the extraordinary powers
of Our Lady grew
throughout Brazil.
Later, we had
many other miracles,
like the miracle of
a blind girl who came
from Jaboticabal
who was blind and
after walking a long way
to arrive here
at the Sanctuary,
the girl turns to
her mother and asks:
“What church is that?”
And the mother
is overjoyed as
her daughter can see now
the Sanctuary
of Our Lady of Aparecida
as well.
Another miracle
we can tell is about
a horseman who boasted
that he would enter
the church on horseback.
But when the horseman
tried to enter, the horse
was unable to open
the church doors
with his hoofs.
A hoofprint of the horse
can be seen
at the churchyard,
in a stone that has been
preserved in the museum.
News of such miracles
made through the
intercession of Our Lady
were shared far and wide.
A group of visionary
German priests decided
to build a new sanctuary.
The first church
to Our Lady of Aparecida
was built in 1745.
The construction of
the second began in 1845
and today is known as
the Old Basilica.
The New Basilica,
also known as
the National Sanctuary of
Our Lady of Conception
Aparecida, is the third
largest Catholic church
in the world.
It was inaugurated
on July 4, 1980
when John Paul II visited
Brazil for the first time.
In 1931, Our Lady
was officially proclaimed
Queen and Patron Saint
of Brazil. Last year,
over 9 million pilgrims
from all corners of Brazil
and abroad visited
the image of Our Lady
to thank her and feel
elevated in her presence.
Many groups,
more than thirty, that,
every year,
come to the Sanctuary
all the way from
the cities they live.
We also have the famous
on foot pilgrimages.
People who come from
their cities walking
very long distances,
more or less 300 kilometers,
400 kilometers,
to arrive here
at the Sanctuary.
Pilgrimage means
going to a sacred place,
go in search of
what is sacred.
And those people
who organize
such pilgrimages,
through those walks or
those bus trips,
they aim at reaching
a spiritual experience.
And how do we nurture
this spirituality?
We do it through prayer.
And those who come here
in a such a special way
to the city of Aparecida,
they come with
this feeling of prayer.
They don’t come
just for tourism.
They come to fill a void
that they feel inside,
to leave here replenished,
full of God,
to be a witness of God
to the people.
No, it is the third time.
Where do you come from?
Poços de Calda,
Minas Gerais.
How long
did the trip take?
Three hours and
a half, four hours.
And why did you come
to the Sanctuary?
Oh, it is a point
of reference
for any Catholic.
We feel good coming
here. And wish to thank
and have faith.
What does Our Lady
represent in your life
and how,
and why did you come
here to thank her,
and not thank her
from your city
for example. How does it
work for you?
Oh, it is because
this is a special place,
it is a temple,
a differente place.
So, we wish to thank
Our Lady for the blessings
bestowed and come here
to have faith,
have hopes
and pray a little.
Here, we feel good.
We’ll continue our visit
to the National Sanctuary
of Our Lady of Aparecida
when we return.
Please stay tuned to
Supreme Master Television.
Halo, joyful viewers,
you’re watching
The World Around Us
on Supreme Master
Television.
Let’s continue our visit to
the National Sanctuary of
Our Lady of Aparecida.
Father Rodrigo explains
that people don’t just
come here to admire
an image of Our Lady,
but that they bring a
deeper spiritual intention
upon entering
this Sanctuary.
People who come to
the Aparecida Sanctuary,
they are attracted
in a very special way
by the image of Our Lady.
They visit the image
of Our Lady.
They talk to Our Lady.
They establish a very
tender dialogue with Mary.
But this message
spread by Aparecida
does not mean that
Our Lady,
through a image of hers,
want to attract
these people to her,
to make these people
adore an image.
We, as Catholics,
we don’t adore any image.
But we have her
as a representation
of those who gave
their witness of faith.
One visitor expressed
the importance of
this sanctuary to her.
For me, the sanctuary
has always been
my point of reference.
I came here ten years ago
and this time,
I really wanted to come
because I dreamed about
coming with my mom
and dad, since for me,
Our Lady of Aparecida
accompanies me
my entire life.
Even if I am afar,
I feel that this image
is very dear to me.
I feel very touched,
very happy in my heart.
I feel that as if Our Lady
has told me that she has
always been with me
because even if I am far,
and many times,
I mentally see her image
or dream about her.
So, when I entered here
and saw the image,
I felt like crying
of happiness.
One of the most
touching miracles I have
seen and I have heard,
was about a child,
a 13-year old teenager.
When he knew that
his father had cancer, his
father was hospitalized,
already at the gates
of passing.
And he made a promise:
if Our Lady blessed
his father and cured him
from cancer, he would cross,
on his knees,
the Passage of Faith
that goes from
the old Sanctuary
to the new Sanctuary.
And, indeed, he had
this blessing and he came
here to fulfill his promise
here in Aparecida.
And, when we talked to
this child, he said to us:
“Father,
I cannot explain to you
how blessed I was.
What I am suffering now
to pay for my promise
is way too insignificant
compared to the grace
I was given.
My father was cured.
Now, he is with us,
helping us
in everyday life.
He is raising us,
allowing us to study.
So today
I came to the Sanctuary
to thank for the grace
that Our Lady
bestowed upon us.”
Like this miracle, we
have many other miracles
that the pilgrims
who come here to
the Sanctuary make it
their duty to record.
Having observed many
moments of emotion
at the Sanctuary,
father Rodrigo told us
about the sacred
atmosphere here.
The best moment to see
the joy of the pilgrim
who comes
to the Sanctuary,
the joy of being here
in the Sanctuary,
is when a pilgrimage
is arriving, especially
the pilgrimages
made on foot.
These pilgrimages,
there is a special
spirituality in them,
a long walk all the way here.
I would say that
this walk that is
the pilgrimage, is also
a walk of purification
since people who decide
to walk until here,
they put themselves,
as well, in a state of mind
of people who want
to learn, who want
to change their lives.
Therefore,
when the pilgrim arrives
here at the Sanctuary,
he witnesses the peace
that the Sanctuary
offers him, but it is
a “restless peace.”
Why is it so?
Because, being here,
the pilgrim is invited
to leave here
as a different person.
He is not called
to return home
exactly the way he was
when he arrived.
Instead, he is invited here
to drink from the spring
which is the Christ
and return to his town,
to his family and home,
to live the virtues
preached in the Gospels.
So, it is a whole life
which is renewed
by being here
at the Sanctuary.
With its grace-filled
atmosphere,
the Sanctuary of
Our Lady of Aparecida
soothes many
a pilgrim’s heart.
May it continue to be
a place on Earth
for finding divine peace.
Thank you for being
with us on today’s
The World Around Us.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television for more
constructive progams.
Coming up next is
Words of Wisdom,
after Noteworthy News.
May Heaven shower you
with miracles
each and every day.