Our Lady of Hope
Our Lady of Hope, Our Lady Great with Child, Our Lady of the Divine Nurse, Our Lady of Sweet Expectation or Virgen de la O is a Marian devotion associated with Advent, the waiting for the Nativity of Christ (as well as with the theological virtue of hope); the period during which the Virgin Mary was pregnant (in Latin Maria Gravida or Virgo Gestans).
History – Our Lady of Hope
The reason for the name “O” is the exclamation “oh”, which opens the antiphons of the Gospel canticle in Vespers prayer from 17 to 23 December, known as the Great Antiphons or Advent Antiphons. For example, O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High (17 December). The iconography of the Virgin of Good Hope is also cited as the origin of the name, frequently depicted with a circle on her abdomen simulating pregnancy, in which the figure of the infant Jesus is sometimes drawn or carved, and whose edge resembles an O, although this has disappeared from modern iconography.
Among the Gospel passages that include scenes from the Virgin’s pregnancy (from the Annunciation to the journey to be counted in the census, first to Jerusalem and finally to Bethlehem) is that of the Visitation: the meeting between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, who was also expecting a child (John the Baptist).
It is a frequent theme in art and among the Holy Week processions, especially in the city of Seville, where five brotherhoods hold Our Lady of Hope as their Marian titular image. These are: Hermandad de la Esperanza Macarena, Hermandad de la Esperanza de Triana, Hermandad de San Roque (Gracia y Esperanza), Hermandad de La Trinidad and Hermandad de La O. Also worth noting is the Virgen de la Divina Enfermera, titular image of the Hermandad de la Lanzada, which processes in October.Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza (Durón).
A similar phenomenon occurs in Seville’s sister city of Málaga, where five images of the Virgin under this title process on thrones beneath canopies during the city’s Holy Week: La Esperanza del Perchel (17th century) in the Madrugá (Archicofradía del Paso y la Esperanza), Nueva Esperanza throughout Holy Tuesday (Hermandad de Nueva Esperanza), Gracia y Esperanza in the afternoon and evening of Holy Monday (Hermandad de los Estudiantes), María Santísima de la O in the afternoon of Holy Monday (Cofradía de los Gitanos) and Virgen de los Dolores y Esperanza (18th century) throughout Palm Sunday (Hermandad de Humildad y Paciencia).
In Andalusia, the title of Esperanza inspires deep popular devotion. Among all the images of Hope, notable for their history, heritage and devotion are: La Esperanza Macarena (Seville), La Esperanza de Triana (Seville), La Esperanza del Perchel (Málaga) and Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza (Granada).
In Antigua, Guatemala, there is the Procession of the Virgen de la “O”, held every 25 December, in which the image of the Virgin sets out from the Escuela de Cristo (Franciscan Order) in Antigua Guatemala and ends in the Colonia El Manchén amid great festivity, with prayers and fireworks at the close.
Brotherhoods, Traditions, Images and Shrines – Our Lady of Hope
- Hermandad de la O (Triana-Seville)
- Estación Misionera Franciscana María Madre de la Esperanza (Rosario – Argentina)
- Capilla Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza de Bicentenario (Caracas – Venezuela)
- María Santísima de la Paz y Esperanza de Pedrera (Seville)
- Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza de Lima (Peru)
- Parroquia Ntra. Sra. de la Esperanza de Valverde (Dominican Republic)
- Archicofradía del Paso y la Esperanza (Málaga)
- Cofradía de Ntra. Sra. de la Esperanza
- Hermandad de Ntra. Sra. de la Esperanza (Ávila)
- Hermandad de la Virgen de la Esperanza (Ciudad Real)
- Iglesia de la Virgen de la Esperanza de Castellet
- María Santísima de la Esperanza de Vegueta
- Danza de la Virgen de la Esperanza, Cumbres Mayores
- Hermandad de Ntro. Padre Jesús Cautivo, Ntro. Padre Jesús Nazareno y María Stma. de la Esperanza (Peñarroya-Pueblonuevo)
- Hermandad de Jesús en la Columna y María Santísima de la Esperanza (Priego de Córdoba)
- Virgen de la O, patroness of Dueñas (Palencia, Spain)
- Virgen de la O, historic patroness (popularly, the Pilgrim Virgin) of Pontevedra (Spain)
- Hermandad de la Esperanza Macarena (Seville)
- Hermandad de la Esperanza de Triana (Seville)
- Hermandad de la Esperanza de Córdoba
- Parroquia Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza (Cali – Colombia)
- Hdad. del Stmo Cristo de la Flagelación, Ntra. Sra. de la Esperanza y San Juan Evangelista (Arjona)
- Real Hermandad de Cristo Resucitado y Santa María de la Esperanza y del Consuelo (Zaragoza)
- Cofradía Nuestra Señora de La Esperanza – Parroquia de El Salvador – Santa Cruz de La Palma – Canary Islands
- Nuestra Señora de la O – Parroquia de la Natividad de Nuestra Señora – (Pangil, Laguna, Philippines)
- María Santísima de la Esperanza de Ronda (Málaga) – Parroquia de San Cristóbal
- Agrupación Parroquial del Santísimo Cristo del Amor y Buen Fin y María Santísima de la Esperanza Trinitaria (Zaragoza)
Patronages of Our Lady of Hope
Our Lady of Hope is the patroness of the municipality of La Guancha on the island of Tenerife. She is the patroness of Logroño, and of the city of Pontevedra (the Pilgrim Virgin is the patroness of the province). The feast day of Our Lady of Hope is 18 December.
Given Name – Our Lady of Hope
Esperanza, María de la O and María la O are feminine given names.
Place Name – Our Lady of Hope
Colonia Virgen de la Esperanza, Madrid
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