I noticed it was a cloudy Sunday morning as I headed out early to Marginal Tiete, a bus/metro station about 45 minutes from my house by public transportation. I arrived there to meet up with a group of Americans heading out of the city of Sao Paulo. We were leaving to see the Festival of Sao Bento in the city of Aparecida do Norte, almost 3 hours from Sao Paulo.
We left on the bus and arrived at the city before noon. The town was named after “Our Lady of Aparecida,” the patron saint of Brazil. Legend has it that in the 18th century there were some fishermen casting their nets into the River Paraiba near Sao Paolo. They hauled up a headless statue with their catch. When they re-cast their nets, they brought up the head of the statue. After putting the pieces together, they said that it appeared to be a Black Virgin Mary. The legend continues that when the fishermen recovered the body, then the head, the slender figure of the Virgin Aparecida became so heavy that they couldn’t budge it. Since then, in the Brazilian religious tradition, the Virgin Aparecida, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, is the Holy Mother, patron Saint of mothers-to-be and new-borns, rivers and the sea, gold, honey and beauty. This town, near where the statue was found, is named after the Patron Saint the Virgin Aparecida and houses the most important Marian shrine in the country, the point to which pilgrims from all over the country converge.
Once there, I saw people in the streets celebrating the festival of Sao Bento. While a bit confusing at first (especially since I'm not Roman Catholic), there were two main saints I learned about on this trip: Sao Bento (whose festival it was) and the Virgin Aparecida (who the city is named after). When I got off the bus, I saw a huge festival in the streets in front of the Church of Sao Bento. It seemed that in every direction and without much organization (as most Brazil events appear to be...) people were dancing in costumes, groups were parading about and bands were playing music. Everyone was there to celebrate the feast of Sao Bento.
After observing the festival, I went to see the Church of the Virgin Aparecida. The church was gorgeous. One of the largest, most beautiful churches I have ever seen. Here, you can see one of the five wings of the church, all equal in size:
After looking at the church (which literally has six or seven masses per day and therefore was currently in mass), I went to see the Sacred Image. There was a nearly ten minute line to see her, but after some time I was able to work my way through the crowd to see her. Here is her picture below:
After leaving the Sacred Image, I headed to the chapel of Candles. It's a huge room full of people lighting candles. Below is a picture. Then made the holy trek on the footbridge of faith where, supposedly, those who cross the very long bridge will be blessed with healing in their knees. Thousands of people were making the trek and one of the men was making it literally on his knees and praying the entire way!
I headed from the church and went to see a bit of the rest of the city. I went to a huge Sunday Market. I bought great shoes for 12 R (7 USD) and a purse for 15 R (9 USD). Afterward, I was out of money to purchase any more souvenirs, but I was happy with my purchases since they were both things I needed. I wandered through the market alone for the next couple of hours, taking in the sights and smells. There, I saw some of the best counterfeit shoes (Nike, Adidas, etc) I have ever seen. I wish I would have had more money to pick up a pair! I also saw numerous items commemorating the festival of Sao Bento and the Virgin Aparecida.
I finished out the day meeting back up with the Americans to watch the parade that was passing by the churches in the area. The parade was for the Cavalary of Sao Bento and included more than 2,000 horse riders! I’ve included a video below for you to see. However, while the parade was interesting, after about the 1,000 horse-rider, I was ready for something new…
Suddenly, the sky burst open and an unstoppable rain drenched everything in its path. The horse riders scurried off as the people dashed for cover anywhere they could. As it was only about 20 minutes from the time my bus had to leave, I thought, “Perfect!” and ran to the bus station for cover, along with anyone in near sight of the bus station...it was packed! However the rain poured. And it poured. And it poured. The open garden inside the bust station was absolutely flooded with a foot of rain; no one could leave. It was a terrible rain. My bus couldn’t leave for 2 hours.
When my bus finally left and arrived in Sao Paulo, I headed home with some friends, taking the metro and then splitting a taxi. It was a great day… very interesting to see one of the holiest and most well known sites in Brazil.
This is a picture of some of the costumes warn at the Festival of Sao Bento:
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