More than 650,000 pilgrims gathered this weekend in the city of Salta, in the Argentine province of the same name, to celebrate one of the events with the most attendance in the local Catholic devotional: the Feast of Our Lord and the Virgin of the Miracle.
In this context, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Mons. Jorge García Cuerva, presided over the Seasonal Mass this Sunday, and began his homily saying: “Words (…) are never enough, if what has to be said overflows the soul.”
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“It is very difficult to put into words what is felt” at the “Feast of the Miracle,” admitted the prelate, who walked for four days accompanying the pilgrimage of more than 170 kilometers from San Antonio de los Cobres, also in the province of Salta.
Let us look at the Lord
“In the Cross of the Lord of the Miracle we find strength to continue on the path of life, because alongside our simple people we recognize that we are all fragile, we recognize that no one can alone, we recognize our vulnerability and the need we have for the Lord of the Miracle “, he expressed.
When seeing the pilgrims looking at the images of the Lord and the Virgin of the Miracle, Bishop García Cuerva highlighted, “there was a communion of glances in a profound silence.”
In that sense, he noted, “we want to allow ourselves to be looked at by his gaze of mercy, which heals the wounds of the soul, as so many servants healed our feet during the pilgrimage of these days.”
“We want to allow ourselves to be looked at by your bright gaze, like that of all of us who come to your feet, moved to the point of tears, because crying is good for us, because we make tears and cleanse our eyes and thus, we look at the future with greater hope and we see a horizon to get ahead as Argentines,” he said.
Free like Jesus
In this context, Bishop Cargnello express: “Lord of the Miracle, thank you for drawing us to you to renew, also this year, the Pact of love with you!”
“Here you have us, Lord! We bring our pains, our concerns, the poverty of many Argentines. With us come our sins, our infidelities, but also our hopes that are based on your constant and always renewed fidelity,” he stated.
With this pact “we open our hearts to his Spirit so that He makes us capable of being free like Jesus,” he explained and specified: “We are truly free to the extent that we do good.”
Fight against the “destructive tsunami” of society
To fully experience this freedom in society, the Archbishop of Salta called for focusing efforts to fight against the “destructive tsunami” that is “violence, the scourge of drugs, social inequality with its consequences of growing poverty, culture of death, the loss of educational quality”.
“It is up to the State to create and sustain the conditions so that people and institutions develop their full capacity to fulfill themselves with others, but each citizen is also asked to contribute their own,” he indicated.
“Let us not be afraid to lose some of our comfort in favor of the poorest. Let us not make ostentation causing more pain to those burdened by poverty,” she encouraged, highlighting that “the Miracle is the most eloquent testimony of the transformative power of faith.”
The “Miracle Festival”
The origin of this great festival dates back to 1582, the year of the founding of Salta, when Fray Francisco de Victoria, who was carrying out his pastoral mission in America, promised that upon returning to Europe he would send an image of Christ to the main church of the town. , which arrived ten years later.
In 1692, an earthquake caused the disappearance of the city of Esteco. An aftershock affected the capital of Salta, which was 150 kilometers away, generating panic among the residents, who approached the temple that was destroyed.
Father José Carrión, priest of the Company of Jesus, took the crucified Christ out into the street, in what is remembered as the first procession. After this and other manifestations of faith the earthquakes eventually stopped.
More than 300 years old, the Feast of the Lord and the Virgin of the Miracle is one of the most popular in Argentina and is an opportunity for the faithful to renew their pact of faith with the patron saints of Salta.
Juliet Villar
I am a journalist, with a degree in communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non-governmental organizations. Since 2016 I have been dedicated to Catholic journalism, first at the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as ACI Prensa correspondent for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.