July 4
Nuestra Señora del Refugio, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Jesuit missionary Juan José Güica brought a painting of Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners from Italy to Mexico in 1720. In a dream, the Virgin told Padre Güica to ask the Franciscans of Zacatecas to use and promote the image; they distributed over 150 copies, making this one of the most widespread Marian devotions in Mexico.In 1793 Franciscan friars came to the new settlement which would become Matamoros, renaming the area "Nuestra Señora del Refugio de los Esteros Hermosos" (Our Lady of the Refuge of the Lovely Marshes). Its Cathedral of Our Lady of Refuge, built in 1832, displays a statue of her from 1886 over the main altar (right, from Diócesis de Matamoros, www.diocesisdematamoros.org).
The fiesta of the Virgen del Refugio, celebrated in many Mexican towns, commemorates the coronation of the original "Refugium Peccatori" painting in the Jesuit church of Frascati, Italy, on July 4, 1717. In Matamoros, pilgrims process to the cathedral for 7:00 pm solemn mass. At the same time, the city celebrates its patron saint with a secular fair featuring food, a lottery, and music.
Also celebrated this date:
 | Maria Trost, Maria Plain, Bergheim, Salzburg, Austria (Mary Consolation). Painting crowned, 1751, commemorated fifth Sunday after Pentecost. |
| Virgen del Consuelo, Portovelo, El Oro, Ecuador. Patron of miners and township. Mass & procession; mining fair from previous to following weekend. |
| Notre-Dame du Guet, Bar-le-Duc, Meuse, Grand Est, France (Our Lady of the Lookout). Statue crowned, 1920. |
| Maria Steinthal, Hammelburg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Church reconsecrated, 1998, after renovations following a fire. Patronal feast September 8. |
| Madonna della Stella, Fosciandora, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy (Madonna of the Star). Fresco found, 1798. |
| Rifugio dei Peccatori, Frascati, Roma, Latium, Italy (Refuge of Sinners). Icon crowned, 1717. |
| Nuestra Señora del Refugio, Matamoros, Coahuila, Mexico. Town's patronal fiesta. Pilgrimage, masses. |
| Virgen del Refugio, Acámbaro, Guanajuato, Mexico. Town's patronal fiesta. Pilgrimage, masses. |
| Onze Lieve Vrouw van den Polder, Middelburg, Zeeland, Netherlands. Rediscovered painting carried in procession, 1926. Annual pilgrimage August 15. |
| Nuestra Señora del Refugio, Sonabia, Castro Urdiales, Oriente, Cantabria, Spain. Town's patronal fiesta. Sung mass, communal meal. |