Blessed among all women: The Missionary Virgin, identity and territory in Patagonia.

Abstract

After the creation of the Diocese of Viedma (1953), appeared in Northern Patagonia the dedication to the Missionary Virgin, promoted by the Diocese second Bishop, Monsignor Miguel Hesayne (1975-1993). In the midst of the military dictatorship (1976-1983), he appointed her Patron Saint of Río Negro, province that at the time belonged to the Diocese of Viedma. Following the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, and specially faithful to the Puebla Document, that considers Virgin Mary the patron saint of the Americas, under the dedication of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Hesayne sought to identify his Diocese with a female figure with an indigenous face, like the Virgin of Guadalupe. In conceiving the Missionary Virgin deprived of ornaments and royal attributes, the bishop aimed to reflect his ?option for the poor? pastoral, highlighting through her image and devotion the province marginalized groups and peripheral spaces, thus resignifying its social and territorial identity