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In 1963, Maria Martinez and her then-3-year-old son Gerald hitched clothes, food and water to a donkey and traveled from their home in Elías Piña, Dominican Republic, east toward the Basilica of Our Lady of Altagracia in Higuey, Altagracia, Dominican Republic.
The 246-mile journey that took 13 days was a pilgrimage to fulfill a promise she made for answered prayers on behalf of her son, whom doctors did not believe would see his third birthday.
To illustrate her devotion to the Blessed Mother under the title of Our Lady of Altagracia, patron of the Dominican Republic, Ms. Martinez, now 90 and a resident of Patterson, N.J., shared her story with CNY after a Jan. 19 liturgy in honor of the Caribbean nation’s maternal figure.
Approximately 1,400 Dominican Catholics attended the early afternoon Spanish-language Mass at Manhattan’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral to commemorate the feast of Our Lady of Altagracia, whose actual feast day is Jan. 21.
Bishop Julio César Corniel Amaro of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, served as principal celebrant and homilist.
Faith and family were the central themes of his homily.
“When we immerse our thoughts and prayers and put our faith in her, she takes us back to the Holy Family, her duties as Mother of our Lord,” Bishop Amaro said of Our Lady of Altagracia.
“Her power comes from a tradition that started in Higuey and stretches far and wide, from generation to generation, to wherever part of the world Dominicans call home. Our Holy Mother is part of our culture and our identity as Dominicans.”
Faith, Bishop Amaro continued, is about listening for God’s “beckoning call.”
“The power of faith carries us through all hardships,” he said. “Faith in our Holy Mother represents the Holy Family and reminds us that family is the origin of strong morals and religious values.”
Maritza Encarnacion, a parishioner of Sacred Heart in the Bronx, attended the Mass with her husband, Ramon Enrique Cruz. She said her devotion to Our Lady of Altagracia began in childhood. “My father was very devout to her and, to this day, one of my most vivid memories growing up was that he would make it a priority to attend the first Mass of the day on her feast.
“Ever since I’ve been in this country I come to this Mass at the Cathedral and whenever I am in Santo Domingo I make a trip to the Basilica in Higuey. She has been very good to me and my family.”
Countless pilgrims annually sojourn to the Basilica of Our Lady of Altagracia in the city of Higuey in Altagracia, Dominican Republic.
A devotion to Our Lady of Altagracia by Dominican Catholics may be traced to the 16th century. The feast of Our Lady of Altagracia is a national holiday in the Dominican Republic. Approximately 95 percent of the country is Catholic.
