OUR LADY OF PROVIDENCE

Day 191: November 19

Our Lady of Divine Providence, San Juan, Puerto Rico



Toward the end of his tenure as bishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gil Esteve y Tomás ordered a statue of Our Lady of Divine Providence from a sculptor in Barcelona, Spain, where he had served as vicar before being ordained bishop, being a great devotee of her since his seminary days. On January 2, 1853, the image was displayed for devotion in the cathedral.

He wanted to put his entire diocese in the hands of Divine Providence, finding himself faced with the cathedral in ruins and the economy of the diocese in even worse conditions. The Bishop's faith was rewarded and soon bore its first fruits. Within 5 years he managed to rebuild the cathedral church and to establish the cult and devotion to the Virgin of Providence.

The original image of the Mother of Divine Providence venerated by the Servants of Mary and other Italian religious orders, which developed from Rome throughout the world after 1752, bears only a vague resemblance to the Puerto Rican one. The first is a half-length on oil in which the Virgin appears with the Child while sleeping peacefully in her arms. The title "Divine Providence" was given to her when St Felipe Benicio, the fifth superior of the Servants of Mary, invoking the protection of the Virgin on a day when his friars had no food, found at the door of the convent two baskets full of food without knowing its origin.

While the image that Fr Gil Esteve had made was sculpted according to the taste of the time. It is a full-length statue of the seated Virgin, exposed for worship in the cathedral for 67 years, until in 1920, when it was replaced by another made entirely of wood. The Virgin holds the Child Jesus on her legs who, in an attitude of complete trust, sleeps in her lap while she delicately holds his left hand.

St Pope Paul VI declared Our Lady of Divine Providence the main patron saint of the island of Puerto Rico by a decree signed on November 19, 1969. With this document it was also decreed that the feast of the Virgin was moved from January 2nd, the anniversary of her arrival on the island, to November 19th, the day on which the island of Borinquen was discovered and the date on which she was crowned in 1950. This is to unite the two great affections of Puerto Ricans; love for their beautiful island and love for the Mother of God.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"Glory to the Most Blessed Trinity in you, O Mary! Glory to you, O Mary, in the Blessed Trinity! Queen of the angels, Queen of the archangels, Queen of the principalities, Queen of the powers, Queen of the virtues, Queen of the dominations, Queen of the thrones, Queen of the cherubim, Queen of the seraphim, Queen of the seven spirits assisting at the throne of God."

(Ascension, trans. Louis Caputo, Vocationist Fathers, New Jersey, 1997, p. 402)

Comments

Post a Comment

Hot Picks

OUR LADY OF MELIAPORE

Image
Day 47: June 26 This is the shrine in the East Indies, where Saint Francis Xavier often retired to pray during his eleven years with the people of India. The Blessed Virgin Mary was Francis’ constant source of strength and inspiration. The image before which Saint Francis used to pray is called Mylai Matha in Tamil, or Our Lady of Mylapore in English. It is an ancient statue about three feet tall, Our Lady of Meliapore can still be venerated at the church. The church of Saint Thomas of Mylapore – spelled somewhat differently from the above – contains Mary’s shrine. According to tradition, the Apostle Saint Thomas came to India in 52 AD. Due to his success making converts to the True Faith, he was persecuted and finally martyred in the year 72 AD. Saint Thomas is buried at the shrine of Our Lady of Meliapore, and there are relics of Saint Francis Xavier. There was a church known to be in Mylapore going back to the 1st century, and built by St Thomas. According to tradition, there was a ...
Read more

Marian Year 2025-26

Image
  MARIAN YEAR The year 2026 marks the first centenary of the apparition of Our Lady to St Justin Russolillo, the Founder of the Vocationists. As the feast of Our Lady of Divine Vocations falls on May 11, the year preceding to that year (May 11 2025 – May 11 2026) has been declared to be celebrated as Marian Year by the Vocationists. The reason behind this year-long celebration is, as Pope Pius XII decreed prior to the Marian Year in 1953 on the occasion of the first centenary of the definition of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mother, “that the faith of the people may be increased and their devotion to the Virgin Mother of God become daily more inflamed.” As Rev. Fr. Louis Caputo SDV rightly points out, “the life of Fr. Justin here on earth began with the…apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary…, it developed in the shadow of Mary and ended in union with Mary.” The birth of Justin was preceded by an announcement by the Blessed Virgin Mary to Fr. Sa...
Read more

OUR LADY OF DIVINE VOCATIONS

Image
The Devotion to Our Lady of Divine Vocations The devotion to Our Lady of Divine Vocations has its foundation on the Marian Apparition that St Justin Russolillo had on May 10, 1926. He was praying breviary near a hut made of straws called pagliarella. St. Justin describes it in his diary (Book of the Soul) "May 10, 1926, first day of the Rogations. It was given to me the certainty that the Blessed Trinity has given the Blessed Lady the Office of the Immediate Superior of the Society of Divine Vocations and therefore of all the offices, mansions, studies, works, spheres and everything. She is the authority of the Society. Glory and thanks to God and Mary. Therefore, the established practice of having one person always present and on guard in the room dedicated to Our Lady to honor and venerate her perpetually." After the Marian Apparition, St Justin rushed to the rectory of St George's parish in Pianura where he used to be the parish priest. He asked Fr Luigi Diodato to pre...
Read more