Luján Basílica [1920s-1940s]

Description: This handmade envelope contains photos and engravings on the history and building of the Basilica of the Virgin of Luján. Towards the year 1630, a Portuguese landowner, Antonio Faría de Sá, in Sumampa—see line 153 of this list--asked a friend to bring a statue of the Virgen Mary from Brazil. His friend brought back two images that, at the port of Buenos Aires, were placed in two little boxes and driven towards Córdoba in a wagon. But when the wagon arrived at the estancia of Rosendo on the margins of the Luján River, it did not move despite the effort of the drivers. A young African-American by the name of Manuel suggested leaving one of the boxes out of the cart so as to see which of the Virgins refused to leave: it was the statue of Nuestra Señora de la Concepción the one that forbid the wagon to move. The statue was, then, left with the Rosendo family that built an adobe chapel for the Virgin who, from then onwards, was looked after by Manuel. In the early 1670s, a rich lady from Buenos Aires, Doña Ana Matos, donated her lands and a new church for the Virgin was built as she continued to perform many miracles. This is the origin of the most beloved devotion of the Virgin Mary in Argentina. In 1890 the to-day basilica started to be built with the money obtained from the people’s offerings. It was finished in 1910—also see line 54 of this list. In this envelope we can see the rich and magnificent interior and exterior of the basilica's building. Extent of original: Handmade envelope . Condition of original: Regular to bad condition.