Historic accounts say that in 1717, three fisherman — Domingos Garcia, Filipe Pedroso and João Alves — found a headless statue of the Virgin Mary after casting their nets in the Paraíba River in eastern Brazil. When they cast their nets a second time, they recovered the statue's head also.

Immediately after finding all of the statue, their nets were filled with fish, and this is the miracle that is attributed to Our Lady of Aparecida.

Father Marco Antonio da Cruz is the part-time parochial vicar of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Myrtle Beach and is assigned to sacramental assistance for the Portuguese-speaking apostolates at St. Andrew in Myrtle Beach and Immaculate Conception in Goose Creek.

He said many Brazilians hold novenas in their households the evening before the feast day in honor of their patroness. Then, on the day of the feast, there are processions where her statue is carried to the church for Mass.

In the Diocese of Charleston, these processions and Masses will be held in several churches:

Saturday, Oct. 11

• St. Andrew, 37th Ave. N. and Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach
• St. Philip Neri, 292 Munn Road, Fort Mill

Sunday, Oct. 12

• Immaculate Conception, 510 St. James Ave., Goose Creek
• St. Mary Magdalene, 2252 Woodruff Road, Simpsonville

Oratorian Father Adilso Coelho, pastor of Divine Savior Church in York and chaplain for Brazilian Ministry for the diocese, explains how the community has grown.

“About 20 years ago, the pastor of [Immaculate Conception] told me that there was some Brazilians in his parish and asked if I would like to have a Mass with them,” he said. “I accepted the invitation, and for that Mass, we had about 35 people. I offered to go there once a month to say a Mass in Portuguese. A few months later, I was invited to celebrate a wedding in Portuguese in Conway. After the wedding, Brazilians asked for a monthly Mass in Portuguese.”

Currently, the largest community is in Goose Creek, where around 500 faithful attend the Portuguese Mass on Sundays. Simpsonville has Mass for almost 200 worshipers, and Myrtle Beach has about 150 who attend the Mass; there’s a smaller group in Fort Mill of about 60 attendees.

In Brazil, the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida (Santuário Nacional de Nossa Senhora Aparecida) is the largest church in the Southern Hemisphere. It's also the third largest Catholic Church building in the world, only after St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Córdoba, Spain.

Marcia Martins Lucas is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and currently lives in Fort Mill.

“When I lived in Brazil, I went almost every year,” she said. “I had friends who organized a group of buses to go there. Each of the people who went with us had promises or reasons to give thanks for some blessing or protection (as I did, too); and ask for protection at the foot of the image of Our Lady.

“We would attend Mass and pray for family members who have already passed away and another space called the ‘Room of Miracles’ with various offerings that people would leave to give thanks,” Lucas said.

She further explained that besides being the patron saint of Brazil, Mary always has a connection to Brazilian families.

“My parents consecrated me to her by giving me the middle name Aparecida in honor of Our Lady. In moments of difficulty, just thinking about Our Lady is enough to feel peace, tranquility and the certainty that everything will turn out for the best,” she said.

For more information on the Brazilian Ministry and other ethnic ministries in the Diocese of Charleston, visit the Ethnic Ministries Secretariat.