Our Lady of Aparecida Day honors Nossa Senhora Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil. The day commemorates the 1717 discovery of a small clay statue of the Virgin Mary by fishermen in the Paraíba River, which became a symbol of hope and faith. Over centuries, devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida grew into one of Brazil’s most cherished traditions. Millions of pilgrims visit the Basilica of the National Shrine of Aparecida, one of the largest churches in the world, to pay tribute.

Santiago Apóstol was one of Jesus’s closest disciples and the first apostle to be martyred. His relics, believed to rest in Santiago de Compostela, inspired one of the world’s most important pilgrimage traditions and made him the patron saint of Spain.