Days after the ignoble attack that reduced the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida to shards in May 1978, the Folha de São Paulo published an article by Dr. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira entitled: A imagem que se partiu [The Shattered Statue]. Considering the horrific crime and certain events with national repercussions, Dr. Plinio made an analysis of the world situation at that time.
A crime of such dimensions, he said, perpetrated in the heart of one of the largest Catholic nations on earth, was a sign of the enormous decadence in which humanity was immersed, becoming increasingly atheistic and materialistic. What is more, it was a real warning. He pointed out the link between Our Lady’s prophetic message at Fatima and the attack on the Patroness of Brazil: “It is impossible not to wonder if there is a connection between this tragic and maternal prediction, which has gone unheeded by the world during the last sixty years, and the tragic event at Aparecida. […] Many will say that the link between Fatima and Aparecida cannot be affirmed, for lack of complete proof. I am not going to plumb the issue here. I am simply asking if there are those who feel they have a basis for denying it…”1
In the wake of Dr. Plinio’s considerations, we can ask ourselves another question: would it not be reasonable, especially for our times, to also speak of a “message from Aparecida”? For if the episode of the image’s breaking can be taken as a supernatural warning, why could not its entire history be?
Mary and the Mystical Body of Christ
When we reflect on the prodigious journey of the statue of Brazil’s Patroness, from her finding in the waters of the Paraíba River to the present day, we see how her story seems to constitute an admirable parable, bearing a profound and truly topical message. But a parable of what? Of the glorious trajectory of Catholicism in its two millennia of existence.
It is also extremely appropriate that Providence wanted to use an image of Our Lady for this purpose because, as the Catechism teaches us,2 the Holy Church finds in Mary the ideal model of her virtues and the most perfect image of her holiness. Therefore, much of what is said about the one can also be said, with the necessary provisos, about the other.
Let us take a moment to have a closer look at the Queen of Brazil and discern in her history some chapters of the glorious life of the Mystical Bride of Christ.
Failure of diabolical plans
The fact that the statue was drawn out of the water is eloquent. Let us recall those words from St. John’s Revelation: “The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood” (12:15). In the figure of this mysterious Woman, Catholic tradition sees both Mary Most Holy and the Holy Church. Thus, the immersion of the image may well represent Satan’s plans to conceal and annihilate the action of the Mystical Body of the Lord.
During the first centuries of Christianity, this diabolical objective manifested itself above all through heresies, which aimed to create internal divisions among the faithful and separate them from their Divine Founder. For this reason, the state in which the statue was found in Paraíba is also emblematic: with body and head separated.
Furthermore, in the same way that the small image of Our Lady of Aparecida was rescued from the waters and entrusted to the protection of humble fishermen, the Redeemer wanted to entrust His Church to men of a similar condition, who, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, knew how to fight for the integrity of its doctrine and adorn it with the witness of their fidelity. Accordingly, the infernal plots failed, because “the earth came to the help of the woman” (Rv 12:16).
Entrance cortege for Holy Mass in the Shrine of Aparecida, in August of 2022
Symbology of the miracles
The hundreds of graces obtained in Aparecida have always strengthened the faith of devotees and favoured the conversion of many unbelievers. It is interesting to note how some of the miracles performed there bear a close resemblance to the work of the Church throughout history.3
The chains of a slave that were broken, freeing him, symbolize Baptism, the source of true freedom for the children of God and the end of servitude to the devil. The candles that were re-lit without human help can symbolize the action of grace in setting alight again the fire of charity that had been extinguished by sin in so many souls – a supernatural and invisible prodigy produced by the Sacraments. In turn, the miraculous detainment of the sacrilegious horseman at the doors of the basilica seems to be an image of how God deals with His enemies, whose fury has so often threatened Christendom with ruin: no matter how violent a form their attacks may take, He has never allowed His inheritance to be handed over to pillage, nor the gates of hell to prevail against it (cf. Mt 16:18).
The promise of a glorious restoration
Therefore, what can we say about the malicious attack mentioned at the beginning of this article? Is it not a symbol of what is happening to the Church today?
Unfortunately, it is hard to deny that the evil one, seeing his plans to destroy God’s work thwarted, dared to enter the sacred precincts and take possession of what is most holy in them. “Through some crack,” as Pope Paul VI said, “the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God.”4 However, this was allowed only to a limited extent. And in this regard, Our Lady of Aparecida has yet another symbolism to show us.
When the miraculous statue was smashed to pieces, her hands remained intact. In a similar way, the Holy Church, which can be disfigured in its human part but never destroyed, always holds within itself the principle of restoration: holy, praying and sacrificing souls – represented by the image’s folded hands – which are the infallible pledge of its victory. The prayers and silent sufferings of these souls obtain from God that the virginal face of the Church will once again shine with all its splendour, even in the darkest periods of history.
Let us therefore confide in the “message” that Our Lady of Aparecida gives us: when this sublime countenance seems to be hidden from human eyes, a mysterious and most glorious restoration is about to be brought about by the Divine Holy Spirit!
May the triumph of Mary and the Church be hastened!
While echoing the warning given in the apparitions of Fatima, the story of Brazil’s Patroness also repeats the promise of the Immaculate Heart of Mary’s triumph.
May the Blessed Virgin fulfil it without delay, shortening the days of the Holy Church’s humiliation and granting her a splendour never before seen in history. This is the wish that, in filial prayer, we lay at the feet of our Mother and Queen today. ◊
Notes
1 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. A imagem que se partiu [The Shattered Statue]. In: Folha de São Paulo. São Paulo. Year LVII, N.17.953 (May 29, 1978); p.3.
2 Cf. CCC 773.
3 The miracles referred to in the following lines are narrated in a previous article.
4 ST. PAUL VI. Homily, 29/6/1972.
