- Time of past OR future Camino
- VdlP(2012) Madrid(2014)Frances(2015) VdlP(2016)
VdlP(2017)Madrid/Sanabres/Frances reverse(2018)
I’ve frequently been fascinated by the “votive” merchandise on display at religious shops in Spain. Here’s one I photographed in Salamanca.
Do the prices reflect popularity, I wonder? I notice that JP II came in near the top end at €15.95 - (this was 2012), and that “el cheapo” is poor Santiago at €6.50. But it is significant that Virgen del Carmen features prominently. I’ve often wondered about this - the name I mean - because after all Carmen, to me, only brings to mind a Sevillana cigarette girl in a French opera.
I recently looked into this and discovered that Virgen del Carmen is actually St Mary of Mt Carmel, of old testament prophet-fame, and later associated with the 12th century formation of the Carmelite order. She is apparently the most popular incarnation of the Virgin Mary in Spain, and she figures prominently in religious processions, such as the ones I have witnessed in Seville.
She is the patron saint of fishermen, and indeed of the Spanish Navy! She apparently is the equivalent of the more-familiar “Our Lady Star of the Sea” in the English-speaking world, often referred to as Stella Maris.
Herewith my own personal connection. I spent most of my working life teaching at this school in my hometown.
The statue, however, is I believe Our Lady of Lourdes.
Do the prices reflect popularity, I wonder? I notice that JP II came in near the top end at €15.95 - (this was 2012), and that “el cheapo” is poor Santiago at €6.50. But it is significant that Virgen del Carmen features prominently. I’ve often wondered about this - the name I mean - because after all Carmen, to me, only brings to mind a Sevillana cigarette girl in a French opera.
I recently looked into this and discovered that Virgen del Carmen is actually St Mary of Mt Carmel, of old testament prophet-fame, and later associated with the 12th century formation of the Carmelite order. She is apparently the most popular incarnation of the Virgin Mary in Spain, and she figures prominently in religious processions, such as the ones I have witnessed in Seville.
She is the patron saint of fishermen, and indeed of the Spanish Navy! She apparently is the equivalent of the more-familiar “Our Lady Star of the Sea” in the English-speaking world, often referred to as Stella Maris.
Herewith my own personal connection. I spent most of my working life teaching at this school in my hometown.
The statue, however, is I believe Our Lady of Lourdes.
