August 5
Nuestra Señora de la Antigua, Lima, Peru
Tradition holds that the Virgin appeared to Ferdinand III in 1248 during his reconquest of Seville, saying, "You have a
constant protector in my image of La Antigua, whom you love well and which
is in Seville." After he entered the city, the mosque wall appeared
transparent to him, so that he could see the old fresco hidden inside. The
present image in Seville's Cathedral appears to date from the 1300s. But
however old St. Mary the Ancient is, by the time Spain colonized the
Americas, devotion to her was still strong. Conquerors, missionaries, and
settlers from Andalucia carried the devotion the New World, placing her
image in the cathedrals of Mexico, Panama, and Peru.
In 1544, the archdeacon of Seville's cathedral sent a copy of the fresco to his counterpart in the suffragan cathedral of Lima, where it was placed in the choir chapel behind the main altar, as in Seville. There it became a focus of devotion and the recipient of papal indulgences. In 1627 Our Lady the Ancient was named patron of the first university in South America, the University of San Marcos in Lima. Ven. Francisco Camacho (1629-1698) came to Lima as a soldier, but joined the Order of Hospitallers after a conversion experience in the Chapel of La Antigua. He stayed in Lima for 30 years, living a holy life and sometimes speaking with the Virgin in her chapel. In 1895 the Cathedral was remodeled and the painting of St. Mary the Ancient moved to a side chapel.
Her fiesta is celebrated on August 5.
Sources:
 | Rubén Vargas Ugarte, Historia del Culto de María en Iberoamérica, in "Nuestra Señora de la Antigua de Lima," Mariologia, www.mariologia.org/advocacionesperu06.pdf |
| "Nuestra Señora de la Antigua de Lima, Perú ( 5 de Agosto)," Foros de la Virgen María: Advocaciones y Apariciones, foros-virgen-maria.blogspot.com/2009/07/nuestra-senora-de-la-antigua-de-lima.html |
| "Capilla 'de la Antigua' de Catedral de Lima luce restaurada," Feb. 20, 2009, Arzobispado de Lima, www.arzobispadodelima.org (picture) |
Also commemorated this date:
| Dedication of St. Mary Major, Roman Catholic Church. Optional Memorial. |
| Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, Copacabana, Manco Cápac, La Paz, Bolivia. Country's patronal feast day. |
| Panna Maria Sněžná, Provodov, Náchod, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic (Virgin Mary of the Snow). New church dedicated at site of healing spring, 1735. Feast on nearest Sunday. |
| Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, Antras, Ariège, Midi-Pyrénées, France (Our Lady of the Snows). Pilgrimage to mountain shrine. |
| Our Lady of the Snows, Raia, South Goa, Goa, India. Konsache Fest, church's feast day and harvest festival; first rice cut. |
| Our Lady of the Snows, Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India. Feast day at Catholic basilica. |
| Nostra Signora delle Penne, Laigueglia, Savona, Liguria, Italy. Festa. |
| Madonna della Neve, Novi Ligure, Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy. Festa, procession. |
| Madonna di Crea, Serralunga di Crea, Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy. Statue crowned, 1890. Procession on a near Saturday. |
| Madonna dei Boschi, Boves, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy (Madonna of the Woods) |
| Beata Vergine di Monte Albano, Mori, Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy (Blessed Virgin of Mount Albano) |
| Maria Santissima Ausiliatrice, Rovereto, Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy (Most Holy Mary the Helper) |
| Madonna del Grappa, Feltre, Belluno, Veneto, Italy |
| Madonna del Sudore, Castel del Rio, Bologna, Emilia- Romagna, Italy (Madonna of the Sweat) |
| Beata Vergine dell'Acero, Lizzano in Belvedere, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy (Blessed Virgin of the Maple) |
| Madonna delle Grazie, Badia Tedalda, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy |
| Madonna delle Lacrime, Trevi, Perugia, Umbria, Italy (Madonna of the Tears) |
| Madonna della Quercia, Marano Equo, Roma, Latium, Italy (Madonna of the Oak) |
| Santa Maria della Neve, Rome, Italy (St. Mary of the Snow). Snowfall indicated site of Santa Maria Maggiore church, 358. |
| Santa Maria del Piano, Episcopia, Potenza, Basilicata, Italy. Festa; shower of wheat; procession from shrine to town. |
| Madonna del Soccorso, Muro Lucano, Potenza, Basilicata, Italy (Madonna of Aid) |
| Madonna della Neve, Copertino, Lecce, Apulia, Italy (Madonna of the Snow) |
| Madonna della Luce, Castrì di Lecce, Lecce, Apulia, Italy (Madonna of the Light) |
| Madonna delle Grazie, Soleto, Lecce, Apulia, Italy |
| Madonna Greca, Isola di Capo Rizzuto, Crotone, Calabria, Italy |
| Santa Maria de Jesu, Bocchigliero, Cosenza, Calabria, Italy |
| Madonna di Costantinopoli, Campana, Cosenza, Calabria, Italy (Madonna of Constantinople) |
| Madonna della Neve, Cetraro, Cosenza, Calabria, Italy |
| Beata Vergine del Soccorso, Fuscaldo, Cosenza, Calabria, Italy |
| Maria Santissima Annunziata, Ficarra, Messina, Sicily, Italy |
| Joy of All Who Sorrow, St. Petersburg, Russia (July 23 Julian) |
| Nuestra Señora de la Rueda, Barros, Los Corrales de Buelna, Besaya, Cantabria, Spain (Our Lady of the Wheel) |
| Nuestra Señora del Soto, Iruz, Santiurde de Toranzo, Pas-Miera, Cantabria, Spain (Our Lady of the Thicket) |
| Virgen Blanca, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Basque Country, Spain (White Virgin) |
| Virgen de la Plaza, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, La Rioja, Spain. Fiesta. |
| Virgen de las Nieves, Yésero, Huesca, Aragon, Spain (Virgin of the Snows). Local romería on nearest Sunday. |
| Virgen del Remedio, Alicante, Alicante, Valencia, Spain |
| Mare de Déu de la Seu, Xàtiva, Costera, Valencia, Spain (Mother of God of the Seat) |
| Nuestra Señora de las Nieves, Arcos de la Frontera, Cádiz, Andalucia, Spain |
| Nuestra Señora de Linarejos, Linares, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain |
| Nuestra Señora de las Nieves, Teguise, Lanzarote, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain. Mass at shrine in Famara Mountains. |
| Mother of God, Pochaiv, Kremenets, Ternopil, Ukraine (July 23 Julian) |
| Our Lady of Guadalupe, Windsor, Ohio, USA. Monumental statue consecrated, 1995. |