This is the main icon of the parish and parish of Senhora da Hora. The number seven, symbol of plenitude, points to the seven sacraments, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven virtues, the seven days of the week... Water is, above all else, the natural symbol of life, fertility, purification, and regeneration. In the Bible, water becomes a true “sacrament”, a sacred sign of the creative and saving presence of God and is the basic natural element of the first sacrament of Christian life: Baptism. Obviously, the number seven of the “spouts” is intended to give religious significance to a pagan cult of fertility, associated with the abundance of water in this place. The origin of this spring is due precisely to the existence of seven springs in Alameda das Sete Bicas, which for the oldest people had miraculous water, of the highest quality in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, until the construction of the factories on the border, Carrinhos to the North and West, and Ribera to the East, which polluted it, and today it is water unfit for human consumption, according to analyses carried out by the competent authorities.
According to tradition, the exact place where the Virgin Our Lady of the Hour appeared was in the place Mãe d’água, whose flow had, at its origin, several springs, hence the place name Sete Bicas. This is certainly an attempt to Christianize a pagan place.
Translated by Google •
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