Greeting the Virgin of Nazaré. Banners and popular representations of Mary on the routes of the Belém Círio

Abstract

"Virgin of Nazareth, pray for us"; "The residents of Residential (X) greet the Virgin of Nazareth"; "Grant us your kind blessing, Our Lady of Nazareth"; "The family/ the condominium/ the Catholics of the residential area/ greet the Virgin of Nazareth", are some of the variations written on banners, banners, and posters that honor the passage of the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Nazareth during the

Círio, part of the intangible national heritage that occurs every year in the city of Belém, Pará, Brazil. The idea for this essay arose in the first half of the year 2023. Records were taken by me as a passerby on Samsung Galaxy A02 (SM-A022M) while fulfilling a vow, three days before the Círio, and extended for a week after the end of the celebration. The locations included Avenida Almirante Barroso, Augusto Montenegro, Presidente Vargas, Avenida Nazaré, and BR-316, as well as adjacent streets, which I walked on foot. These places are central axes of the city that the pilgrim image visits.

In this religious ceremony, numerous neighborhoods are visited by the pilgrim image, and millions of pilgrims aim to be closer to the Virgin of Nazareth, as in the imagination of the people from Pará, the mother of Jesus is confused with the image of "Nazica" itself. They thus accompany her pilgrimage, which takes place in official cars. Pilgrims follow the image on foot, by bicycle, in motor parades, road processions, and River Círio, until the procession on October 8th.

The image was found in October 1700 by the caboclo Plácido José de Souza, a hunter and farmer who owned a piece of land on the Maranhão Road (currently Bairro de Nazaré), and the Círio has been happening since 1790. The image crosses the city of Belém, and knowing the route, it is a popular tradition to decorate the fronts of condominiums, businesses, streets, and to make banners that "Greet the Virgin of Nazareth" as the patroness of the people of Pará. This tradition goes beyond banners in spoken/written demonstrations, comprising a wide decoration, especially in front of condominiums, with artistic expressions using balloons, colorful ribbons representing the

"promesseiros", totems, graffiti, and paintings on houses, facades, walls, and streets where the processions pass to receive the saint as if pleasing a good visitor. More than just decoration, these are forms of gratitude to Mary, one of the most revered symbols of popular Catholicism.

It is asserted that such ritualization of the city's streets contributes to the ambiance of tourists and natives, and the secular space becomes a space for the representation of the sacred. These are tributes that demonstrate the strength of Belém's Catholicism and the expectation of believers and even non-practicing Catholics with the passage in front of their homes, a moment to gather with family and community, people who decorate the streets out of devotion to the sacred and gratitude from families and businesses for the graces received.

Marking the vicinity of the residence points to a rite of passage, a transition, something that Maués addresses well regarding the Círio lunch in the article "Círio Lunch: a sacrificial feast in honor of Our Lady of Nazareth" from 2016. Here, another transition is perceived in relation to the proximity to the end of the year, confirming the well-known expression in the capital that "Círio is the Christmas of the people of Pará." This rite of passage with such tributes, which are usually removed by Recírio (usually on October 24th), engages the small Catholic communities residing in the streets where Nazica passes. After the removal of these expressions and the reestablishment of secular space, the knowledge of the locals confirms to the people of Belém that the end of the year is approaching – marking a transition between times of year in the city