OUR LADY OF PENHA OF FRANCE:

ICONOGRAPHIC AND DEVOTIONAL FEATURES OF THE PATRON OF THE CITY OF SÃO PAULO

Abstract

One of the popular marian invocations that flourished in Brazil during the Iberian Union was that of Our Lady of Penha de France. This devotion made possible, through out the centuries, the appearance of a diversified iconographic range, from Spanish soil, passing through Portugal and arriving in Brazil, allowing us to establish a comparative iconographiciconological
study of the images of the Virgin of Penha produced in so many places and distinct times. In Brazil, among its old est and most emblematic sanctuaries is the one in the city of São Paulo. The image of the Lady - a representative example of baroque imaginary from the sixteenth century in full dialogue with the purposes of the Counter-Reformation – has been located in the neigh borhood of Penha of France since 1667. As a result of small pox epidemics and ercurring
water crises in the 18th and 19th centuries, the city council and population of São Paulo, al readyaw are of the miraculous fame of the referred image, ended up acclaiming Our Lady of Penha of France as the patron saint of the city of São Paulo.