Nuestra Señora de La O

Redescubramos Lima:  Admirabilis: La devocion mariana en el Peru. Austin: La Catedral, 1999.

Country

Perú

Description

Nuestra Señora de La O is one of the oldest Marian devotions, instituted by the X Council of Toledo in AD 656.   The “O” is a reference to the Latin antiphons of the Magnificat that correspond to the eight days that precede Christmas.  The spread of this cult in Perú is due to the Jesuits who, from an early date, entrusted an image of Our Lady de la O to Fr. Bitti, a paint-on-canvas piece that they still conserve and that forms part of the altarpiece in the church of San Pedro in the Jesuit convent where it is housed.  The church was built in 1620, and was designed by Matias Maestro.

In 1687, there was an earthquake that caused the church a bit of damage.  Fr. Martín de Jáuregui was put in charge of repairs and in the process wrote many notes on how centra the cult of Our Lady de la O had become in their community.  When the Jesuits were expulsed from Perú in1767, San Pedro church passed into the hands of another congregation.  They did not forget their devotion to her, however, and when they returned 104 years later, they centered their presence in the country around her.  The feast day of Nuestra Señora de La O is December 18.

References:

1. Fondo Pro Recuperación del Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación. Redescubramos Lima: Mater Admirabilis: La Devoción Mariana en el Perú. Lima: Banco de Crédito del Perú, 1999.

2. Santoro, Nicholas Joseph. Mary in Our Life: Atlas of the Names and Titles of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Bloomington: iUniverse, 2011.

Researched by Corinne M. Woodruff

Popular Devotions

Shrine

Liturgy of the Hours

Feast Day: December 19th

Hail Mary

Dios te salve, María. Llena eres de gracia: El Señor es contigo. 

Bendita tú eres entre todas las mujeres. 

Y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre: Jesús. 

Santa María, Madre de Dios, ruega por nosotros pecadores, 

ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte.

Amen.