marian feasts     may

Fourth Sunday in May

Santa Maria de Cárquere, Resende, Viseu, Norte, Portugal

The first king of Portugal, so the story goes, was born paralyzed from the knees down. When Afonso Henriques was four years old, around 1113, his tutor had a dream. Our Lady appeared, asking him to go to the hills overlooking the Douro River, where he would find her image in the ruins of a chapel. She promised that if the child would remain overnight on the altar there, he would be cured. The tutor, Egas Moniz, made her promise come true. He organized a search and found the tiny stone image hidden in the Cárquere area near Resende. After an overnight vigil, with the young count lying on the altar, Afonso Henriques gained full use of his legs. Egas Moniz was able to train him to ride and fight. A new church was built there, with a monastery of Augustinian Canons, famous as the place of the "Miracle of Cárquere."   

The amulet-like marble statuette of St. Mary of Cárquere was assumed to date from the Visigothic period (c600) and to have been hidden after the Arab invasion of 711. Some now suggest it is a work of the 1100s (Álvaro Duarte de Almeida and Duarte Belo, eds., Portugal património, Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2007-2008 Volume IV: Viseu, Guarda).

Resende celebrates St. Mary of Cárquere on the fourth Sunday in May. After morning mass in St. Lucy's chapel, a procession heads for Cárquere Monastery some three miles south. To the strains of the national anthem, the Bishop of Lamego joins the group, followed by representatives of Resende's 15 districts. At Cárquere, the Bishop celebrates a solemn mass and the sacrament of confirmation. In the afternoon, there is a eucharistic procession and music by municipal bands.

Sources:

"NUESTRA SEÑORA DE CÁRQUERE," Foros de la Virgen María: Advocaciones y Apariciones, foros-virgen-maria.blogspot.com/2009/08/nuestra-senora-de-carquere-portugal-30.htm
Suzana Faro & Joel Cleto, "Santa Maria de Cárquere: Uma história de pernas," Revista Domingo, Porto, June 20, 1999, p.21-22, joelcleto.no.sapo.pt/textos/Comercio/Carquere.htm
Rancho Folclórico e Etnográfico de Santa Maria de Cárquere - Resende (Douro - Sul), ranchocarquere.com.sapo.pt (picture)

Also celebrated this date:

Nossa Senhora do Sagrado Coração, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil (Our Lady of the Sacred Heart). Procession, solemn mass; children crown statue.
Notre-Dame de Bon Coeur, Luceram, Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France (Our Good-Hearted Lady)
Madonna della Cava, Orvieto, Terni, Umbria, Italy
Madonna della Consolazione, Leverano, Lecce, Puglia, Italy
Madonna della Coltura, Parabita, Lecce, Puglia, Italy (Our Lady of the Crops). Civil festa: decorative lights, vendor stalls, fireworks. Liturgical festa 2nd Sat. after Easter.
Senhora da Orada, São Vicente da Beira, Castelo Branco, Centro, Portugal
 

Where We Walked ~~~ Mary Ann Daly