marian anniversaries     september

Nossa Senhora d'Aires, Viana do Alentejo, Evora, Alentejo, Portugal

The statue of Our Lady of Aires is a small Pietà, said to have been found in the early 1500s inside a clay pot by a rancher ploughing. Another story about this rancher, Martim Vaqueiro (Martin Cowboy), relates that he noticed his oxen were going out each night to graze but each morning were back in the corral with the gate shut. To solve the mystery, he slept by the corral gate one night. He dreamed that a beautiful Lady told him she was responsible, and that she wanted a house of God there, which she would help him build. Because of her help, as he sold off oxen to pay for building materials, his herd never decreased. During the plague of 1748, people promised to hold annual ceremonies in honor of Our Lady of Aires if she would end the epidemic. When the plague passed, the magnificent Baroque church of Nossa Senhora d'Aires becamse the focus of an annual fair and celebration, which became so excessive that church authorities moved her official feast day to the fourth Sunday in April. Now Our Lady of Aires has two celebrations, but the one in September is still the biggest. It still includes a market fair, as well as masses, processions, and a blessing of animals, of which she is patron.