Active evangelization center decorates itself in August to celebrate the holy Redemptorist Brother.
Named after one of the first residents of the region, Father Antônio Corvelo de Ávila, who settled there at the beginning of the 18th century, the city of Curvelo, in Minas Gerais, is decorated in August to celebrate the Octave of Saint Gerald Majella , which moves not only the city, but the entire region of “Grande Sertão Veredas,” sung magnificently by Guimarães Rosa.
Among the many Redemptorist Missionaries who dignified the Congregation founded by Saint Alphonsus Liguori, without a doubt one of the most prominent and well-known is the holy Brother Gerard Majella. A shrine was erected in his honor in the city of Curvelo, located in the Archdiocese of Diamantina.
Foundation and Mission
On September 1, 1906, at 11:30 a.m., the first Redemptorist Missionaries arrived in Curvelo to start a new foundation there. They chose Saint Gerard Majella as their patron saint, who had been canonized two years earlier, on December 11, 1904, by Pope Pius X.
The first mission field of the new community was the small church of Our Lady of the Rosary, located on the “edge” of the city, and in October of that year, the first novena was held in honor of the patron saint, for which a small image was provided. The novena, in the simplicity of the setting, was clothed with the greatest possible splendor!
The mission field was expanding, including the preaching of the Holy Missions in parishes in the region, and on March 22, 1912, construction began on the new and large church, completed after six years, in March 1918. Around 1917, the “little church of the Rosary,” having fulfilled its mission well, was then demolished.
The torrential rains that used to fall in the month of October caused the novena in honor of the patron saint to be transferred to the end of August and, for the first time, what was previously called the Solemn Public Novena was transformed into the Octave, celebrated in Curvelo. In 1953, the Octave was transferred to the week between the last Sunday of August and the first Sunday of September. And the liturgical feast, in October, began to be solemnized with a preparatory triduum.
Representation of the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary 
Basilica of Saint Gerald, in Curvelo 
Redemptorist Missionaries celebrate the honor of Saint Gerard Majella in the city of Curvelo
From chapel to sanctuary
In Materdomini, in southern Italy, there is a magnificent sanctuary that houses the remains of Saint Gerard, the patron saint of mothers and children. Comparable to it is the one in Curvelo, and where there used to be a small church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, there is now a majestic basilica.
As soon as the new church was built, it immediately became a place of pilgrimage, with thousands of people attracted by the pastoral and religious assistance offered by the missionaries. Graces and blessings began to be recorded in great numbers!
Since the early years of the 20th century, numerous devotees from nearby and distant regions of Brazil have come on pilgrimage, especially for the celebration of the Octave, between the end of August and the beginning of September.
On April 30, 1966, this center of devotion, built-in neo-Roman style, distinguished by its altars and marble of great value, artistically decorated by the Italian painter Victório Goretti, received from Pope Paul VI the title of Minor Basilica, being installed on October 16 of the same year, when the day of the patron saint was celebrated.
The celebrations for the installation of the basilica began with the preparatory novena on October 7, followed by many other civic, religious, and cultural festivities. The last three days were crowned by the sermons of Dom José Brandão de Castro, C.Ss.R., bishop of Propriá (SE), with the chronicles of the Redemptorist Convent and the Sanctuary recording the presence of bishops, priests, and a large group of faithful.
From those early days, the faith and devotion of the people of Curvelo and of devotees from other regions continued to grow, marked by many beautiful expressions of popular piety, such as dressing children and adults in the saint’s vestments. The evangelization that comes from the Geraldino Sanctuary sets the pace for the journey and commitment to being a Church/Community.
Today, Curvelo and its sanctuary continue to attract thousands of devotees of São Geraldo and the Redemptorist Missionaries of the Province of Nossa Senhora Aparecida continue to make it an active center of evangelization.
(Source: a12.com)
