marian feasts     july

July 1

Virgen de la Guía, Portugalete, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain

Originally a mariners' celebration, the fiesta begins in the first hours of day with an opening volley and the traditional sally of the Dominguines, two big rag dolls that hang from a rope tied to balcony railings on either side of Coscojales Street. At the same time the faithful present a floral offering to the Virgin, whose image is at one end of the street in a niche on the façade of Market Square. From then on, drumming, fanfares, accordions, and masks enliven the street. At exactly midnight, the Virgin Guide and her retinue process from the top of the steep street, following the Municipal Band to the sound of a march. A final serenade ends with a concluding volley. (Information from the town's tourist site, www.portugalete.com. Picture from the traditional arts website, www.berriztasuna.org.)   

Cuando al mar bogando va, 
va cantando el marinero 
aquello que yo más quiero 
en Portugalete está. 
Es una bella mujer, 
es la luz del alma mía, 
es la Virgen de la Guía 
que ampara nuestro querer.

When rowing on the sea
the sailor is singing,
"The one I love most
is in Portugalete.
She's a beautiful woman,
she's the light of my soul,
she's the Virgin Guide
who shelters our love."

Also commemorated this date:

Mother of God of Budslav, Miadelsky district, Minsk region, Belarus. Pilgrimage, candlelight procession; high mass July 2.
Notre-Dame du Buisson, Frasnes-lez-Anvaing, Hainaut, Wallonia, Belgium, Oeudeghien district (Our Lady of the Bush). Novena July 1-9.
Notre-Dame de Saint-Sévérin, Liège, Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Dried garland on statue's pillar revived, 1631. The next day, several visitors were healed.
Notre-Dame, Jumièges, Seine-Maritime, Haut-Normandie, France. Abbey church dedicated, 1067, now a ruin.
Matka Boska Zwycięska, Gdansk, Poland (Blessed Mother of Victory), in St. Nicholas Church. Icon crowned in Lviv, Ukraine, 1751.
Matka Boska Krasnobrodzka, Krasnobród, Zamosc, Lublin, Poland. Night procession.
Theotokos of Bogolyubovo, Vladimir, Vladimir, Russia (June 18 Julian). Feast commemorates apparition June 18, 1157.
 

Where We Walked ~~~ Mary Ann Daly