Our Lady of Aparecida pilgrimage (Novena and Feast of the Patroness)

The pilgrimage centres on the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida, a Catholic basilica in Aparecida. It is described as the main pilgrimage site of the Catholic Church in Brazil, and it is dedicated to Our Lady Aparecida, the country's principal patroness.

The event is listed under the local name Festa da Padroeira – Nossa Senhora Aparecida, although that name is also not yet confirmed. The 2027 edition is expected to run from 3 October to 12 October, following a fixed yearly pattern. Treat these dates as provisional until they are announced.

The event is organised by the Santuário Nacional de Nossa Senhora Aparecida. No access details have been confirmed, so check with the organiser before planning a visit.

Local tradition places the origins of the site in 1717. Three fishermen on the Paraíba River, fishing for a banquet for the visiting São Paulo governor, netted a headless figure of the Virgin, and then its head on the next cast. The shrine traces its beginnings to this small clay statue.

The statue was first kept in the home of the fisherman Felipe Pedroso, whose family later built a small chapel for it. A larger chapel followed in 1734, the first basilica in 1834, and work on the present basilica nearby began in 1955.

In 1930 Pope Pius XI proclaimed this Marian title patroness of Brazil. Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2007 and presented the shrine with a Golden Rose. In 2016 it became the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Aparecida.