April 26

Inmaculada Concepción, Cumbre Cerro San Cristobal, Santiago, Chile

Chilean Catholics marked the the 50th anniversary of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in a monumental way: by erecting a 46' statue of the Mother of God on San Cristobal Hill overlooking Santiago, the capital. Based on the Colonna dell'Immacolata in Rome's Piazza di Spagna, erected in 1857 to commemorate Pope Pius IX's 1854 proclamation, the shrine on San Cristobal was begun in 1904. The Church of Santiago commissioned the French Art Foundry of Val D'Osne to create the iron sculpture, shipped in many pieces, assembled on the mountain, and inaugurated on Easter day, April 26, 1908. Although deep in a grove of transmission towers, the Immaculata is still prominent over Santiago. A sanctuary at her feet hosts an annual pilgrimage on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8. (Information and picture from Santuario Inmaculada Concepción, www.santuariocerrosancristobal.cl.)

Also commemorated this date:

bulletOur Lady of Lourdes, Hu Zhuang, Pingyin, Jinan, Shandong, China. Rebuilt shrine inaugurated, 2002.

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bulletMadre del Buon Consiglio, Genazzano, Roma, Latium, Italy (Mother of Good Counsel)
bulletMadonna del Paradiso, Isernia, Isernia, Molise, Italy. Statue crowned, 2000.
bulletVirgen de la Cabeza, Valdehorna, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain (Virgin of the Head). Romería to shrine (nearest Sunday).
bulletVirgen de la Cabeza, Nerpio, Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, Spain
bulletVirgen del Collado, Santisteban, Jaén, Andalucía, Spain. La . Statue found under a bell, 1232.
bulletNuestra Señora de la Antigua, Monteagudo, Murcia, Spain. Statue crowned, 2009.

 

 

Where We Walked ~~~ Mary Ann Daly