In the early 1600s, Spanish settlers brought with them to the New World a special devotion to Our Lady of La Leche. Four hundred years later, the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine has kept this devotion alive through countless people of faith. And Pope Francis recently recognized the importance and sanctity of this devotion by granting a Canonical Coronation for Our Lady of La Leche, which took place on Sunday, Oct. 10 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine.
The historical site of the first parish Mass in the New World, Nombre de Dios (affectionately known as "the Sacred Acre") traces its origins to the founding of the city of St. Augustine, America's oldest continuously occupied city of European origin. This event is commemorated today by a 250-foot cross that stands on the original landing site in St. Augustine.
On Sept. 8, 1565, on the Feast Day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pedro Menendez came ashore and proclaimed the site for Spain and the church. The first Spanish settlers and soldiers brought a great love and devotion to Our Lady and in 1577, they established on the mission grounds the first sanctuary in her name. They built a chapel and dedicated it to Nuestra Senora de La Leche y Buen Parto – Our Lady of the Milk and Happy Delivery. They placed a statue of the nursing mother in the chapel. This devotion spread rapidly among the converted indigenous Indian tribes. The concept that God sent His Son to be born of a
Virgin and live among them was a powerful image in helping newly converted souls to understand God's love and the Incarnation.
So, for more than 400 years, the Shrine's mission has been the evangelization through the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pilgrims have come to the Sacred Acre year after year, as they seek her intercession to bless their marriages, to receive the gift of children, for safe and healthy deliveries, etc. Many return, bringing their “La Leche babies” back to offer thanksgiving to God and His Blessed Mother. And the site becomes increasingly popular each year, with thousands coming from all over the United States and even abroad.
As the first Marian Shrine in the nation, it is perhaps no surprise that Our Lady of
La Leche is making history yet again.
However, this beautiful event on Oct. 10 did offer an opportunity for modern-day Catholics and people of Faith to become part of the celebrations. Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra, a cardinal and archbishop of Madrid, traveled from Spain as the representative (Papal Legate) of Pope Francis to place the crown on
the infant Jesus and His Mother during the ceremony. The visible crowning of Our Lady helps Catholics and pilgrims to understand the vital and nurturing role she played in bringing Christ, the Redeemer, into the world. Bishop Estevez, the Bishop of the Diocese in St. Augustine, gave the cardinal a warm welcome. Bishop Estevez ascribes this great devotion with the care and gentleness of Mary's maternal appeal: "Since Mary is so tender, parents wanting a child are very attracted to Our Lady of La Leche..."
As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, there is another interesting fact about the Sacred Acre. When Pedro Menendez arrived in 1565 with the 800 Spanish settlers, after they had their Mass of Thanksgiving, Menéndez laid out a meal to which he invited as guests the native Seloy tribe, who occupied the site. From our knowledge of what the Spaniards had on board their five ships, we can surmise that it was cocido, a stew made from salted pork and garbanzo beans, laced with garlic seasoning and accompanied by hard sea biscuits and red wine. If the Seloy contributed to the meal from their own food stores, then the menu could have included turkey, venison, gopher tortoise, mullet, drum, sea catfish, maize (corn), beans and squash.
This was the first community act of religion and Thanksgiving in the first permanent European settlement in North America. The Thanksgiving at St. Augustine was celebrated more than half a century (56 years) before the Puritan Pilgrim Thanksgiving at Plymouth Plantation (Massachusetts), but ironically, this first Thanksgiving is largely unknown by Americans and it did not become the origin of a national annual tradition.
The reason is clear. During the 18th century, British forces won out over those of Spain and France for mastery over the continent. Thus, British observances, such as the annual reenactment of the Pilgrims’ harvest festival in 1621, became a national practice.
