The 234th Círio de Nazaré, a traditional pilgrimage honoring Our Lady of Nazareth, drew approximately 2.3 million people to the streets of Belém in Pará state, Brazil, on Sunday, Oct. 11 for a procession that according to organizers is the largest in Brazil and one of the largest in the world.
The procession took about five hours for participants to cover the 3.6-kilometer (about 2.25 miles) route from the Belém Metropolitan Cathedral to Sanctuary Square located in front of the Basilica of Our Lady of Nazareth.
The Círio’s Sunday program began at 6:00 a.m. with a Mass celebrated by the Archbishop of Belém, Julio Akamine Endi, in front of the metropolitan cathedral. In his homily, he highlighted the significance of the procession as an expression of a shared journey toward Christ.
“The procession is very slow and takes a long time, but the pace is because we don’t want to leave anyone behind; we don’t want to abandon anyone along the way. We want everyone to reach Jesus Christ, to reach eternal life together,” he said.
“What kind of salvation is it where we leave others behind? We want to walk together, and this must also be reflected in our evangelizing and missionary work,” the archbishop continued.
In closing, he invoked the intercession of Our Lady of Nazareth so that the faithful might persevere on this journey: “May Our Lady of Nazareth, in whose honor we hold this most beautiful procession, help us to walk together toward the definitive Kingdom.”
Akamine also urged the faithful to care for others and to look after the salvation of their brothers and sisters, following Mary’s example.
“Let us ask Our Lady of Nazareth that we may know how to be submissive to God, just as she was, and that we may also care more, having zeal for the salvation of our brothers and sisters. We do not achieve this by seeking to claim a leading role that is not ours. The leading role always belongs to God. He is the Savior. He is the Savior of all. He is our Savior. And it is by obeying God that we actively collaborate in the salvation of humanity,” he noted.
Devotees fulfilling vows express their faith on the streets of Belém
After Mass, the image of Our Lady of Nazareth was placed on the “berlinda” (a ceremonial carriage) and taken in procession through the streets of Belém, pulled by a rope, one of the symbols of the Círio festival, that devotees strive to hold onto.
Along the route, devotees fulfilled their vows in various ways: walking on their knees, carrying heavy crosses or images of Our Lady, performing ballet, and even while blindfolded.
Among those fulfilling vows was 28-year-old Fabrício Corrêa, who traversed the route on his knees to honor a promise made for his motherʼs recovery. She was facing complications resulting from diabetes and was at risk of having one of her feet amputated.
“I am an Evangelical and asked God to heal her, but I also went to the basilica and asked Our Lady to intercede with Jesus so that he would grant this healing to my mother,” Corrêa told the website O Liberal.
According to him, a week later, the family received the news that the amputation would not be necessary. His mother lost only one of her toes, and Fabrício fulfilled the vow during this year’s Círio.
“I promised that if she interceded, I would fulfill that vow. I kept that to myself,” he said. His mother, a Catholic, did not know her son had made the vow and only learned of his participation in the Círio after the video went viral on social media.
Along the route, individuals and institutions also paid tribute to Our Lady of Nazareth. To help alleviate the heat, the fire department used water trucks, while volunteers distributed water to the pilgrims.
After the image arrived at Sanctuary Square, the program for the procession concluded with a Mass celebrated by the auxiliary bishop of Belém, Paulo Andreolli.
The Círio schedule of events continues throughout October with other pilgrimages and religious activities, leading up to the “Recírio”, which marks the conclusion of the festivities in honor of Our Lady of Nazareth.
This story was first published by ACI Digital, the Portuguese-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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