Maria Auxiliadora

Just in case you were wondering why she's the patron of my blog... So a couple years ago, I went to Costa Rica. On the first day there I went to mass (and got horribly lost after following a rosary procession, but that's another story). It was the feast day of Maria Auxiliadora, an important one in Costa Rica. During the mass after the collection, they went around handing out holy cards, and small statuettes. With some slick maneuvering (holding out my hand at just the right time), I got a small statuette of Maria Auxiliadora. She sat on my bed table, and came back with me to the States. Unfortunately, I left her at home this trip. I already had to glue baby Jeusus' head back on once, and didn't want to risk a second journey. So when I came over here, I had basically nothing religious. Not even my holy medals, which I left at my parent's house. They were, as I mentioned, celebrating festivals in Aranda when I arrived. So I purchased a local bandana, blue and white in Aranda's particular colors. I then noticed that everyone had these pins hanging off them, some collected from years before. I thought, hey, I'll get one of those. Low and behold, one stall had saint pins. I glanced through them, unsure, but when my eyes fell on Maria Auxiliadora, I knew. I purchased her, and after festivals, I put her on my purse, so she comes with me where ever I go. I think she's the patron of my travels, and I feel better having her around.