Devoção à Maria de Nazaré no santuário Vailankanni: reflexões teológicas à luz do magistério de Francisco

Abstract

Devotion to Mary of Nazareth contributes to the mission of the Church, and in the Vailankanni Shrine in India, based on theological reflections in the light of Pope Francis's Magisterium, it is possible to strongly observe Mary's role in different aspects of evangelization. The objective is to foster a theological reflection on Marian devotion experienced in the Vailankanni Shrine in India, considering its multicultural and multireligious context. The research problem was thus formulated: how does a genuinely Catholic shrine manage to attract non-Catholic pilgrims? The bibliographic review methodology focuses on investigating the profile of the Vailankanni Shrine, highlighting its history, the construction process, and its meanings in the Indian religious and cultural context. The apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium is a theoretical reference in the reflection in the light of the New Evangelization, while the document The Shrine and Pilgrimage offers pastoral support for the understanding and implementation of a possible theology for the present time. The results of this study emerge from theological analysis, highlighting the pastoral and sociocultural richness of Marian devotion in Vailankanni. The investigation encompasses themes such as the cult of the goddess, popular piety as a central axis, the New Evangelization, interreligious dialogue, and Indian Mariology, which can be explored in greater depth within the theological, cultural, spiritual, and devotional contexts