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Have you ever wondered about the sacred figures that play a central role in the celebration of Corpus Christi in Cusco? Get ready to discover a universe of devotion, history, and tradition that will leave you amazed! In this article, we will explore in detail the Saints of Corpus Christi Cusco, the true guardians of the cultural heritage of this ancient city.
The Saints of Corpus Christi Cusco are revered figures in the Cusco community and are a fundamental part of the celebration of this religious festival. These saints and Virgins are objects of deep devotion and respect among the faithful.
In addition to their religious significance, the Saints of Corpus Christi Cusco also hold profound cultural meaning for the Cusco community. These sacred images are an integral part of the city’s cultural heritage and represent the unique fusion of Catholicism with pre-Hispanic Andean traditions. Their veneration and celebration during Corpus Christi in Cusco are a manifestation of the cultural and religious identity of the region.
Anthony the Abbot or Magnus (Heracleopolis Magna, Egypt, January 12, 251 – Mount Colzim, Thebaid, Egypt, January 17, 356) was a Christian-Catholic monk, founder of the eremitic movement. He embodies a man who gradually develops sanctity and becomes a model of Christian piety and a primary reference for Catholic spiritual and contemplative asceticism. It is known that he abandoned his possessions to lead a hermit’s life.
He is accompanied by the representation of a small wild boar. It is said that on one occasion, a wild sow approached him with her piglets (which were blind), in a supplicating attitude. Anthony healed the animals’ blindness, and since then, the mother did not leave him and defended him from any creature that approached. He is the first Saint to enter the Cathedral and pave the way for the other saints and Virgins during the procession.
His feast day is also celebrated every January 17th, and his stewardship is in charge of the Faculties of the National University of San Antonio Abad in Cusco, as well as the Archdiocesan College of the same name; on that day, a procession is held through the main streets of the city where the Patron blesses all his devotees and the Cusco congregation.
Eusebius Hieronymus (Stridon, Dalmatia, 340 – Bethlehem c. September 30, 420), commonly known as Saint Jerome, but also as Jerome of Stridon or simply Jerome, is a Christian saint and church father, who translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin by order of Pope Damasus.
He is represented with a lion because, according to legend, while Saint Jerome was meditating on the banks of the Jordan River, he saw a lion approaching him with a paw pierced by a huge thorn. Saint Jerome helped the animal and completely healed its paw.
The grateful animal never wanted to leave its benefactor. When Saint Jerome died, the lion lay down on his grave and let himself die of hunger. But this legend is mistakenly attributed to Saint Gerassimos, not to Saint Jerome.
Normally, the symbolism of the lion is associated with Saint Jerome, not Gerassimos, probably due to the similar spelling of the two names in Latin: Geronimus and Gerasimus.
According to the legendary account of his life, Christopher was a Canaanite of 5 cubits in height (about 2.30 meters) and a fearsome face. He met a hermit who instructed him in the Christian faith. Christopher wondered how he could then serve Jesus. The hermit suggested that, because of his great size and strength, he could help Christ by assisting people in crossing a dangerous river where people usually perished in the attempt. The hermit promised him that this service would please Christ.
When Christopher had been performing this service for some time, a small child asked him to help him cross the river. During the crossing, the river swelled and the child seemed as heavy as lead, to the point that Christopher could hardly carry him and found himself in great difficulty.
When he finally reached the other side, he said to the child: “You have put me in the greatest danger. I don’t think the whole world is as heavy on my shoulders as you have been.” And the child replied, “You have not only had the weight of the world on your shoulders, but also the Man who created it. I am Christ, your King, whom you have served in this office.” The child then disappeared.
Christopher later visited Lycia and there consoled the Christians, who were being martyred. He was brought before the local king and refused to make sacrifices to the pagan gods. The king ordered him to be killed. After several failed attempts, Christopher was beheaded.
Saint Sebastian or Sebastian of Milan (Narbonne, 256 – Rome, 288). He fulfilled his military duties, but abstained from participating in pagan rituals considering them acts of undue worship. As a follower of Christianity, he dedicated himself to spreading the faith among his companions, providing support and encouragement to Christians imprisoned for their religion.
He was denounced to the Emperor Maximian (co-ruler of the empire with Diocletian), who forced him to choose between renouncing his military career or his faith.
Despite the emperor’s death threats, Sebastian decided to stand firm in his Christian faith. In response, Maximian sentenced him to death. He was stripped naked, tied to a post, and subjected to a rain of arrows by the emperor’s soldiers, who left him for dead. However, his friends found him still alive and took him to the house of a noble Roman woman, Saint Irene, who hid and cared for him until he fully recovered from his injuries.
Despite his friends’ warnings to leave Rome, Sebastian refused and confronted the emperor, reproaching him for his persecution of Christians. As a consequence, Maximian ordered him to be whipped to death, and his soldiers carried out the order without error, throwing his body into a mud pit. Christians retrieved his body and buried him in the famous catacomb of San Sebastian, on the Appian Way.
Barbara of Nicomedia (Nicomedia, 273 AD – Nicomedia, 306 AD). She was the daughter of Dioscoro, a tyrannical governor. He kept her locked up in a castle to prevent her from marrying at an early age. During her confinement, Barbara received education from teachers who taught her various subjects, including poetry and philosophy. During this time, and due to her father’s absence, Barbara converted to Christianity.
After being baptized, Barbara ordered the construction of a third window in her room, representing the Holy Trinity. When her father visited her, she declared her Christian faith and rejected the marriage proposal, stating that she had chosen Christ as her husband. Enraged, her father tried to kill her in honor of his pagan gods. Barbara escaped and took refuge in a rock (rock formation or natural cave) that miraculously opened for her, but despite the miracle, she was captured.
Barbara suffered a cruel martyrdom that included being subjected to tortures such as being tied to a rack, flagellated, torn with iron rakes, placed on sharp pieces of ceramic, and burned with hot irons. Later, King Dioscoro took her before a court where she was sentenced to death by beheading. Surprisingly, her own father was the one who carried out the sentence atop a mountain, but a lightning bolt struck him, ending his life as well.
Joaquin and Anne, a wealthy but childless couple, experienced rejection when Joaquin was snubbed while presenting his offering at the temple due to his lack of children. Deeply saddened, instead of returning home, Joaquin withdrew to a mountain, where he spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting and praying, pleading with God for a child. Meanwhile, Anne also shared her grief with tears. At that moment, an angel appeared to both of them, announcing that their prayers had been heard and that they would conceive a child.
Anne vowed to dedicate the child to divine service, and after nine months, she gave birth to a girl whom she named Mary. When Mary turned three, her parents, Joaquin and Anne, took her to the temple to fulfill their promise of dedicating her to God. Mary remained in the temple until she reached the appropriate age to be given in marriage, at which time she was betrothed to Joseph.
James the Great, also known as James the Greater to distinguish him from another member of the apostles, James the Less. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and the brother of John.
He accompanied Jesus at crucial moments, such as the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter, the transfiguration, and in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus surrendered to prayer in agony at the imminent prospect of his passion and death. He also witnessed the appearances of the risen Jesus and the miracle of the fishing in the Sea of Galilee. Tragically, he lost his life at the hands of Herod Agrippa I in Jerusalem, between the years 41 and 44 of our era.
The legend of Matamoros or Santiago Matamoros recounts that during the Reconquest of Spain, while Christians fought against the Muslims, the apostle James appeared in battles mounted on a white horse and wielding a sword.
During the Battle of Clavijo, when the Christian army was being overwhelmed and on the verge of defeat, James appeared in the midst of the conflict on his white horse, leading the Christians with his sword and guiding them to victory. According to tradition, his intervention was crucial, and the Muslims were finally defeated.
Saint Blaise was a physician and bishop who lived in the 3rd century AD in Sebastea, Armenia, which is now part of Turkey. Several miracles are attributed to him, including the healing of diseases and protection against throat ailments.
One of the best-known legends tells how he saved a boy who was choking on a fishbone. For this reason, Saint Blaise is considered the patron saint of throat sufferers and diseases related to the head and neck.
Saint Blaise was persecuted and imprisoned during the persecution of Diocletian against Christians. He was eventually martyred and beheaded in the year 316 AD.
Saint Peter is one of the most prominent apostles in Christianity and is considered the first leader of the early Christian Church. His original name was Simon, and he was a fisherman from Galilee. According to the Gospels, Jesus called him to follow him and changed his name to Peter, which means “rock,” telling him that on this rock he would build his church.
Peter witnessed many miracles and teachings of Jesus and stood out for his repentance after denying Jesus three times before his crucifixion. After Jesus’ resurrection, Peter was crucified, asking to be crucified upside down, considering himself unworthy to die in the same way as Jesus.
Peter is considered the first pope by the Catholic Church, and his role as leader of the apostles and founder of the church makes him a symbol of spiritual authority and guide for the faithful. He is venerated as a saint in several Christian traditions, and his feast is celebrated on June 29th in the Catholic Church. He is the patron saint of fishermen, popes, and Rome, among others.
Saint Joseph is known in Christian tradition as the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and as the adoptive father of Jesus Christ. According to biblical accounts, Joseph was a righteous and hardworking man who lived in Nazareth and earned a living as a carpenter.
Joseph is remembered for his role as the protector of the Holy Family. According to the biblical narrative, when Mary was pregnant, Joseph received a divine message in a dream in which an angel revealed to him that the child Mary carried was conceived by the Holy Spirit and that he should name him Jesus. Joseph obeyed and became the adoptive father of Jesus, raising and caring for him as his own son.
Saint Joseph is venerated in the Catholic Church as a model of obedience, humility, work, and fatherhood. He is considered the patron saint of the Universal Church, fathers, workers, carpenters, and a good death. His feast is celebrated on March 19th in the Catholic Church.
The Virgin of Almudena, also known as the Virgin of the Royal Nativity of Almudena, is a Marian representation venerated in the city of Madrid, Spain. The history of this representation dates back to the 8th century, during the time of Muslim domination in the Iberian Peninsula.
According to tradition, during the Christian Reconquest of Madrid in the 11th century, a group of Christians found an image of the Virgin Mary hidden behind a wall of the Arab wall, near the Almudena gate, which is the western entrance to the city. This image was interpreted as a sign of divine protection and became an object of veneration.
Devotion to the Virgin of Almudena grew over time, especially during the reign of Alfonso VI in the 11th century. Several miracles were attributed to her, and a small hermitage was built in her honor. The feast of the Virgin of Almudena is celebrated on November 9th.
The Virgin of Remedies is a Marian representation venerated in various Spanish-speaking places, especially in Spain and Latin America. Her history varies by region, but she is generally associated with protection and intercession in times of difficulty or illness.
One of the best-known representations of the Virgin of Remedies is found in the Basilica of Our Lady of Remedies in Mexico City. According to legend, the image of the Virgin was found by the chieftain Juan de Aguila on the hill of Tepeyac, where the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe was also found. Since then, the Virgin of Remedies has been venerated as the patroness of the city of Puebla and of miners in Mexico.
In other places, the Virgin of Remedies is known for her alleged miracles of healing and protection. Devotion to this Marian representation has led to numerous churches, shrines, and festivals in her honor in different parts of the Spanish-speaking world.
The Most Holy Purified Virgin, also known as the Virgin of the Candelaria, is a Marian representation venerated in the Catholic religion. The representation of the Candelaria is based on the presentation of Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem.
According to Christian tradition, Mary and Joseph took the child Jesus to the temple to fulfill the law of purification, forty days after his birth. During this ceremony, the old man Simeon and the prophetess Anna recognized Jesus as the Messiah. In some iconographic representations, Mary holds a candle in reference to the “light to enlighten the nations,” as mentioned in Simeon’s blessing.
In many places, the Feast of the Candelaria is associated with light, hope, and spiritual purification. Its feast is celebrated on February 2nd, forty days after Christmas, and marks the end of the Christmas season in the Catholic liturgy.
The Most Holy Virgin Queen of Bethlehem, “La mamacha Belén” Patroness of Cusco is a Marian representation venerated in the Catholic Church. This representation is closely related to the representation of the Virgin Mary as the mother of Jesus, the child born in Bethlehem.
Devotion to the Virgin Queen of Bethlehem focuses on honoring Mary as the mother of the Savior and recognizing her special role in the history of salvation. Catholic tradition teaches that Mary is the queen of heaven and earth, and as such, she is venerated and sought as an intercessor and protector.
The image of the Virgin Mary with the child Jesus in Bethlehem is a symbol of maternal love, tenderness, and hope for Catholic faithful.
The history of the Immaculate Conception Virgin is based on the Catholic belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was conceived without original sin. This doctrine holds that, by a special privilege of God, Mary was preserved from all sin from the moment of her conception in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne.
The Immaculate Conception Virgin, also called “La linda,” is recognized for the beauty of her angelic face. She is located in the Cathedral and is believed to welcome all saints benevolently. Additionally, she is the patroness of the bishop and acts as the hostess during the festivities of Corpus Christi. Her celebration day is December 8th.
The Saints of Corpus Christi Cusco are sacred images that play a fundamental role in the celebration of this religious festival in the ancient capital of the Inca Empire. Devotion and celebration during Corpus Christi in Cusco are an expression of the deep faith and cultural tradition of the Cusco community. Discover the beauty and devotion of the Saints of Corpus Christi Cusco on your next visit to this ancestral city!
Image Credits: Reliquias CUSCO, Corpus Christi Cusqueño, Tradiciones Cusqueñas
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[…] because it depends on the lunar calendar. During this festivity, a procession takes place in which 15 images of Saints and invocations of the Virgin Mary, which come from the parishes of the city, are carried out. Many parishioners gather to pay homage […]