Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria also known as Our Lady of Fair Winds is a Marian title associated with the
Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
as
Star of the Sea A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth mak ...
and patron of sailboats. In addition, it is first associated with a Roman Catholic shrine to the
Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
located in
Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
, Sardinia ( Italy). The Shrine is part of a complex of buildings which include the Basilica of Our Lady of Bonaria, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bonaria and the monastery which houses the friars of the
Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives ( la, Ordo Beatae Mariae de Mercede Redemptionis Captivorum, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order es ...
. The Basilica and the other structures are under the administration of the
Mercedarians The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives ( la, Ordo Beatae Mariae de Mercede Redemptionis Captivorum, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order es ...
, a
religious order A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practi ...
which has overseen the care of the shrine continuously since October 17, 1335. Mary under this Marian title, is often portrayed carrying the Child Jesus, along with a golden sailboat and a candle in her right arm is invoked as the
Patroness Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
of Sardinia as well as
Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, to which Pope Francis is also a known devotee.


History and traditional account

On March 25, 1370, a ship coming from Spain was traveling towards Italy when it was seized by a terrible storm that put the lives of the crew and passengers at risk. The captain, in a last attempt to save the crew of the ship, ordered the sailors to cast into the sea the ship's cargo. This was done but without any aid to the sailors. There was a large crate within the ship's cargo - this was cast into the sea last of all the cargo. Suddenly, upon the crate entering the water, the storm ceased. The ship, attempting to regain the cargo, followed the crate for some time. Unable to retrieve it, the ship returned to its original route. The crate, however ran aground on the beach at the foot of the hill of Bonaria ( Sardinia). Many people were on the beach when the crate arrived and rushed to see what it was. They tried to open it, but no one succeeded. They tried to lift it, but every attempt was in vain - the box was too heavy. Suddenly a child cried out: "Call for one of the Mercedarian Friars!" The friars came in haste, and without any difficulty, raised the heavy crate and carried it into their church. In silence and piety, the friars opened the crate, and along with everyone there, saw the contents. In that crate was a marvelous statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Child in her arms and, in her right hand, a lighted candle.


Etymology

When the Catalans by name of the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona conquered
Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
, Sardinia from the
Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
ns in 1324, they established their headquarters on top of a hill that overlooked the city. The hill was known to them as ''Bon Ayre'' (or "Bonaria" in
Sardinian language Sardinian or Sard ( , or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia. Many Romance linguists consider it the language that is closest to Latin among all its genealogica ...
), as it was free of the foul smell prevalent in the old city (the Castle area), which is adjacent to swampland. During the siege of Cagliari, the Catalans built a sanctuary to the Virgin Mary on top of the hill. In 1335, King Alfonso the Gentle donated the church to the
Mercedarians The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives ( la, Ordo Beatae Mariae de Mercede Redemptionis Captivorum, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order es ...
, who built an abbey that stands to this day. In the years after that, a story circulated, claiming that a statue of the Virgin Mary was retrieved from the sea after it miraculously helped to calm a storm in the Mediterranean Sea. The statue was placed in the abbey. Two centuries later, Spanish sailors, especially Andalusians, venerated this image and frequently invoked the "Fair Winds" to aid them in their navigation and prevent
shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...
s. A sanctuary to the Virgin of Buen Aire would be later erected in Seville. The capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires, was named by its founders the captain Pedro de Mendoza: ''Santa María del Buen Aire'' ("Holy Mary of the Fair Winds"), a name chosen by the chaplain of Mendoza's expedition, a devotee of the Virgin of Buen Aire. Mendoza's settlement soon came under attack by indigenous peoples, and was abandoned in 1541.


Queen Patroness

Devotion to Our Lady of Bonaria spread quickly over the island, and the
Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
under this title has been named the patroness of Sardinia, then later became a patroness for
Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
along with the
Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
.Originally, there were two patrons of Buenos Aires, the Holy Trinity and Our Lady of Bonaria.


Canonical Coronation and honours

The Basilica of Our Lady of Bonaria was visited by Pope Benedict XVI on Feast of the Nativity of Mary in 2008. On that solemn occasion, the Pontiff granted a canonical coronation to the famed image, and bestowed the honor of a Golden Rose on the shrine. Pope Francis made a repeated Apostolic visit to Sardinia in September 2013.


References


External links


Homepage for the Order of Our Lady of Mercy in the United StatesHomepage of the Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria
{{Coord, 39.2085, N, 9.1257, E, source:wikidata, display=title Shrines to the Virgin Mary Churches in Cagliari