By: Aquiles Castro
Anthropologist
The cult of the Virgin of Altagracia constitutes one of the fundamental devotions of the Mother of God in the sacred imagination of the Dominican people.
We find the image and meanings of the symbolic character of the icon and the attributes of the Virgin of Altagracia associated with two dimensions: an official Catholicism guided by ecclesial authority and a popular Catholicism in constant recreation from life experiences.
Legend has it, since the days of the colony, that the virgin mysteriously disappeared from the place where she was kept by a predestined girl after having revealed her will to be worshiped in a precise place.
The virgin reappeared in an orange tree that bloomed at the wrong time, and the designated place was right there, with which God made it clear that he did not want the virgin to leave Higüey.
“At first they sent for her to the archbishop and the cathedral chapter, and she disappeared from an ark where they brought her locked up with veneration and care.”
According to Sócrates Nolasco, around 1503 “allusion is already made to a certain black woman, in the city of Santo Domingo, who, very religious and charitable, practiced and encouraged the devotion of Altagracia” (Días de lacolonia, SD, El Caribe, 1974, p. 130). Beyond the legend, some milestones can be identified in the construction process and in the legacy of this deity of the Catholic pantheon.
From the famous events narrated by tradition in the Royal Sabana of La Limonade in 1691, through the coronation ceremony in Santo Domingo in 1924, to the opening in 1971 of the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady installed in Salvaleón de Higüey, the The image of Altagracia has occupied a prominent place in the religious representations of the population.
The buccaneers based in Tortuga, with support from France, invaded the interior of Hispaniola in 1689, and seized and plundered Santiago. They were confronted by the Spanish authorities in a bloody battle that occurred in the Sabana Real, Limonal or Limonade. In this place, by order of the authorities, the Virgen de las Mercedes presided over the movement of the Spanish troops; However, the soldiers invoked the protection of the Lady of High Grace. This double veneration strengthened faith in the Mother of Mercy and inaugurated the cult of Altagracia throughout the island.
The outcome in favor of the Spanish and Creoles against the French was considered the result of the intercession of the virgin.
“That victory produced many beneficial consequences for us. […]. Even our religious soul was exalted by such a transcendental victory: then it was when the cult of that dedication to Our Lady that has its sanctuary in the town of Salvaleón de Higüey and that from there spreads its high grace over the entire Republic took off (Alcides García Lluberes, Clío, No. 110, page 90).
The pastoral letter addressed to the clergy and faithful of the Archdiocese, signed by the archbishop of Santo Domingo on September of the same year:
“…and you saw how on so many sad sick people, he poured the divine balm of health […] There were numerous miracles…” (Unpublished documents of Father Adolfo Alejandro Nouel, Santo Domingo, AGN, 2008. Volume III, p.119).
We highlight three provisions that illustrate the prevailing fervor:
Order that the anniversary of the Coronation be commemorated on August 15 of each year throughout the Archdiocese […] with the greatest possible splendor.
Provide all tariff rights to all those faithful who, living as cohabitants or civilly married, wish to sanctify their union, for which we empower the parish priests to dispense up to three canonical proclamations.
Grant absolute exemption from any type of tariff duties to those needy people who want to baptize their children… (Documents… pp. 120).
The persistence and extension of the cult of the Virgin of Altagracia among Dominicans is confirmed every January 21, when thousands of them visit the sanctuary “to fulfill promises.” Before the sacred image, its intercession is requested in cases of illness or danger, both for the petitioner and for a relative or friend. At the same time, it is promised to repeat the visit to the sanctuary.
In addition to Santo Domingo, Altagracia was venerated by inhabitants of Puerto Rico and Cuba, and even today, on the occasion of January 21, its faithful also come to the Basilica from neighboring Haiti.
We invite you to read: Civil Defense present in the Basilica of Higüey; institution cares for thousands of believers on “La Altagracia Day”
