Virgen del Rosario / Our Lady of the Rosary (Chiquinquirá, Boyacá, Colombia) (1586) and Memorials of the Saints – 9 July

Virgen del Rosario / Our Lady of the Rosary (Chiquinquirá, Boyacá, Colombia) (1586) – 9 July, 26 December:

In the mid-16th century the Spanish painter Alonso de Narvaez created a portrait of the Virgin of the Rosary.   He painted in pigments from the soil, herbs and flowers of the region of modern Colombia and his canvas was a rough 44 inch x 49 inch cloth woven by local Indians.  The image of Mary is about a meter high.   She has a small, sweet smile, both her face and the Divine Child’s are light coloured and she looks like she’s about to take a step.   She wears a white toque, a rose-coloured robe and a sky blue cape.   A Rosary hangs from the little finger of her left hand and she holds a sceptre in her right.   She holds the Christ Child cradled in her left arm and looks toward Him.   Christ has a little bird tied to His thumb and a small Rosary hangs from His left hand.   To either side of Mary stand Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Andrew the Apostle, the personal Patrons of the colonist, Don Antonio de Santana and Monk, Andrés Jadraque, who commissioned the work.

In 1562 the portrait was placed in a rustic Chapel.   It was exposed to the air, the roof leaked and soon the damage caused by the humidity and sun completely obscured the image.   In 1577 the damaged painting was moved to Chiquinquirá, Colombia and stored in an unused room.   In 1585 Maria Ramos, a pious woman from Seville, cleaned up the little Chapel and hung the faded canvas in it.   Though the image was in terrible shape, she loved to sit and contemplate it.

On Friday 26 December 1586 the faded, damaged image was suddenly restored.   It’s colours were bright, the canvas cleaner, the image clear and seemingly brand new.   The healing of the image continued as small holes and tears in the canvas miraculously self-sealed.   It still has traces of its former damage and the figures seem brighter and clearer from a distance than up close.   For 300 years the painting hung unprotected and thousands of objects were touched against the frail cotton cloth by pilgrims.   This rough treatment should have destroyed it but it healed and survives.   In 1829, Pope Pius VII declared Our Lady of Chiquinquirá Patroness of Colombia and granted a special liturgy.   In 1897 a thick glass plate was placed over it to shield the painting from the weather and the excess zeal of the faithful.   The image was canonically crowned in 1919 and in 1927 her sanctuary declared a Basilica.
Patronages – Colombia (1829), Venezuelan National Guard.
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St Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr (Died + 1815) and his 119 companions or Martyrs of China (Died 1648–1930, Qing dynasty and Republic of China) (Optional Memorial): 25 priests, friars, nuns, seminarians and lay people. The 87 Chinese Catholics and 33 Western missionaries, from the mid-17th century to 1930, were martyred because of their ministry and, in some cases, for their refusal to apostatise.
Many died in the Boxer Rebellion, in which xenophobic peasants slaughtered 30,000 Chinese converts to Christianity along with missionaries and other foreigners.
Canonised on 1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II in Rome.
Full story here:

Saints of the Day – 9 July – St Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions or Martyrs of China

Bl Adrian Fortescue TOSD (1476-1539) Martyr
About Blessed Adrian:

Saint of the Day – Blessed Adrian Fortescue (1476-1539) Martyr

St Agrippinus of Autun
St Alexander of Egypt
St Audax of Thora
St Brictius of Martola
St Copra of Egypt
St Cyril of Gortyna
Bl Dionysius the Rhetorician
St Everild of Everingham
St Faustina of Rome
St Felician of Sicily
Bl Fidelis Chojnacki
St Floriana of Rome
St Hérombert of Minden
Bl Jane Scopelli
St Joachim Ho
Bl Luigi Caburlotto
Bl Marguerite-Marie-Anne de Rocher
Bl Marie-Anne-Madeleine de Guilhermier
Blessed Marija of Jesus Crucified Petković CRM (1892-1966)
St Patermutius of Egypt
St Paulina do Coração Agonizante de Jesus
St Veronica/Ursula Giuliani OSC Cap. (1660-1727)
Biography:

Saint of the Day – 9 July – St Veronica Giuliani

Four Holy Polish Brothers – 4 saints: Four brothers who became hermits, Benedictine monks and saints – Andrew, Barnabas, Benedict and Justus. They were born in Poland and died in 1008 of natural causes.

Martyrs of Gorkum – 19 saints: Nineteen martyrs killed by Calvinists for loyalty to the Pope and for their belief in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. They are –
• Adrianus van Hilvarenbeek • Andreas Wouters • Antonius van Hoornaar • Antonius van Weert • Cornelius van Wijk • Francisus de Roye • Godfried van Duynen • Godfried van Melveren • Hieronymus van Weert • Jacobus Lacops • Joannes Lenaerts • John of Cologne • Leonardus van Veghel • Nicasius Janssen van Heeze • Nicolaas Pieck • Nicolaas Poppel • Petrus van Assche • Theodorus van der Eem • Willehad van Deem •
They werehanged on 9 July 1572 in Brielle, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands.
Beatified on 24 November 1675 by Pope Clement X and Canonised on 29 June 1867 by Pope Pius IX.

Martyrs of Orange – 32 beati: 32 nuns from several orders who spent up to 18 months in prison and were finally executed for refusing to renounce Christianity during the persecutions of the French Revolution.
• Anne Cartier • Anne-Andrée Minutte • Dorothée-Madeleine-Julie de Justamond • élisabeth Verchière • élisabeth-Thérèse de Consolin • Jeanne-Marie de Romillon • Madeleine-Françoise de Justamond • Madeleine-Thérèse Talieu • Marguerite-Eléonore de Justamond • Marguerite-Marie-Anne de Rocher • Marguerite-Rose de Gordon • Marguerite-Thérèse Charensol • Marie Cluse • Marie-Anastasie de Roquard • Marie-Anne Béguin-Royal • Marie-Anne Depeyre • Marie-Anne Doux • Marie-Anne Lambert • Marie-Anne-Madeleine de Guilhermier • Marie-Claire du Bac • Marie-Clotilde Blanc • Marie-Elisabeth Pélissier • Marie-Gabrielle-Françoise-Suzanne de Gaillard de Lavaldène • Marie-Gertrude de Ripert d’Alauzier • Marie-Marguerite Bonnet • Marie-Marguerite de Barbégie d’Albrède • Marie-Rose Laye • Rosalie-Clotilde Bes • Suzanne-Agathe Deloye • Sylvie-Agnès de Romillon • Thérèse-Henriette Faurie
They were guillotined between 6 July and 26 July 1794 at Orange, Vaucluse, France.
Beatified on 10 May 1925 by Pope Pius XI.

Martyrs of the Baths – 10,204 saints: A group of Christians enslaved by Diocletian to build the gigantic baths in imperial Rome, Italy. The end of their labours coincided with the beginning of the great persecutions of Diocletian and they were all executed. Ancient records indicated there were 10,204 of them; Zeno of Rome is the only one whose name has come down to us and we know nothing else about any of their individual lives.
c 304.