302-year-old tradition returning painting of Our Lady continues in Croatian coastal village
- by croatiaweek
- in News
(Photo credit: Rogoznica Tourist Board)
A longstanding tradition spanning over three centuries has been celebrated once more in the picturesque tourist village of Rogoznica on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast.
On Sunday, the tradition of returning the painting of Our Lady by boat from the Parish Church to the Chapel on the Gradina peninsula took place.
This traditional event featured a procession both on land and at sea, attracting numerous devotees and tourists who find it a unique spectacle.
The return of Our Lady’s painting to the Chapel is a spiritual custom in Rogoznica that has been observed for 302 years.
At the entrance to Rogoznica harbour, on the Gradina peninsula, stands the votive sanctuary of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, popularly known as Our Lady of the Chapel.
(Photo credit: Rogoznica Tourist Board)
In 1722, a fisherman named Juraj Bogavčić, nicknamed Tuburko, was intrigued by a strange light beneath a slab, where he uncovered an image illustrating the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth.
He brought the image home and stored it in a chest. The next day, he saw the same image at the same location. When he tried to compare it with the one in the chest, it was no longer there.
(Photo credit: Rogoznica Tourist Board)
He chose to share his discovery with the parish priest, who then placed the image in the church treasury. Nonetheless, the image of Our Lady reappeared at its original location.
Therefore, spurred on by the pious townspeople, it was decided in 1776 to construct a small chapel.
(Photo credit: Rogoznica Tourist Board)
Rogoznica is located in the southernmost part of the Šibenik-Knin County, nestled in a deep bay protected from the wind, about 30 km from Šibenik.
