Our Lady of Penha de Franca – 9.5 Cm

Description

9cm Height

Our Lady of Penha de Franca gets its name due to its location on a  “penha” or peak by the sea. The name of the church comes from Penha de França a Portuguese parish (freguesia) in the municipality of Lisbon. It was created on April 13, 1918.

Our Lady of the Rock of Franca or Our Lady of the Rock is one of the names that is given to Mary, mother of Jesus. It is believed Our Lady of Penha de Franca appeared to Simon Vela in Western Spain, in a mountain range called Penha de Franca. The feast of Our Lady of Penha da Franca is celebrated on 8 September. The feast of Penha de Franca is considered by the Catholic Church as the third largest religious festival in Brazil, behind only the celebration that honors the patron saint of Brazil, in Aparecida, Sao Paulo, and the Cirio de Nazaré, in Belém, 

In western Spain there is a very high and steep mountain called Penha de France, in the province of Salamanca.
Around 1434, according to some historical sources on 19 May, some French pilgrims dreamed of a statue of Our Lady which was supposedly buried on top of steep mountain, because of a war between Christians and Muslims, in which Catholics hid their images not be destroyed. Simon Vela was the pilgrim who had the vision of Our Lady  surrounded by light beckoning him to go look for her.