A crowd celebrated the day of the Virgin of Luján | Chronic

Like every May 8th, this Wednesday was celebrated the Day of the Virgin of Luján, with a main act in the basilica and others that gathered thousands of faithful throughout the country. The Luján Sanctuary began with preparations for the Patron Party of Buenos Aires on Tuesday evening, with a prayer vigil to receive pilgrims who were beginning to arrive in the vicinity of the Basilica.

Throughout the day, Mbades were held at different times so that all the faithful could attend. The central celebration began at 2 pm with a procession to the image of the Virgin on a litter and ended with a Mbad at 3 pm, presided over by the Archbishop of Mercedes-Luján, My lord Agustín Radrizzani.

In the morning, a large number of faithful approached the temple and long lines of people accompanied one of the pilgrimages in honor of the Virgin, organized around 10 am and organized by the l '. Our Lady of Lujan Institute of Lomas. . A large convocation of faithful, students and families accompanied the pbadage of the Virgin, Patroness of Argentina, on its commemorative date.

The procession, which began in Castelli street in 1680, also crossed the school garden gate where the youngest children dedicated a special song to the Virgin and threw little slips of paper, symbols of veneration and festivities.

The coronation of the virgin

The story says that a Portuguese owner based in Santiago del Estero wanted to install a chapel in honor of the Virgin in his room. For this, he asked a friend to send an image of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

Two specimens arrived in Buenos Aires, but when transferring the port, one of the carts stopped inexplicably at the Pilar party. Whenever they tried to move it, the oxen remained motionless and neighbors in the area wanted to know the contents of the boxes. There they found the image of the Virgin laid on the banks of the Lujan River. Those present concluded that he was to stay on this coast. However, the image of the Virgin was moved to a neighboring room, where she was installed until the creation of a chapel.

In this temporary site, the Virgin received very precious offerings for the inhabitants of the countryside; she is called "The virgin gaucha". A neighbour, Ana de Matos, came to offer their lands, located on the Luján River. Despite the initial resistance of the faithful, the proposal was accepted and it is there that the current basilica was built.

In 1887, the father Salvaire introduced the pope Leo XIII the request of the episcopate and the faithful of the Río de la Plata for the coronation of the Virgin. Leo XIII blessed the crown and the feast was established on the Saturday before the fourth Sunday after Easter.

At 132 years of the coronation, thousands of faithful gather every May 8 in the basilica of Luján to see the original image of the Virgin, 38 centimeters high and representing the Immaculate Conception.