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Grabacion de video, Misa de Sanación; 14 de Noviembre.
Watch the parish's FIRST Spanish Mass here
June 1, 2025 Mass video clip
The Feast of Our Lady of Altagracia is celebrated on January 21st each year in the Dominican Republic. It is one of the most important religious festivals and a national holiday. She is considered the patron saint and spiritual mother of the Dominican people, drawing thousands of faithful to the Basilica of Higüey.
We celebrated the special day during the 1:00pm Mass on January 18, 2026. We had parishioners dress in native costumes, since besides its religious significance, it is a fundamental date for Dominican national identity, often marking the beginning of Dominican Heritage Month elsewhere. The offertory on the Day of Our Lady of Altagracia is a high point of faith in the Dominican Republic, where, along with the bread and wine, symbolic offerings are presented, such as a rosary, flowers, the Bible, and prayers for the family, asking for Mary's intercession for the nation.
Our Lady of Altagracia,
Protector of the Dominican Republic
Sunday January 18, 2025, at the 1:00pm Mass, so many of God's faithful children came together in and with the Dominican community to celebrate our Lady of High Grace (Altagracia), Protector of the Dominican Republic.
The image of the Virgin de la Altagracia “Virgin of Highest Grace” has long been venerated in the Extremadura region of Spain. It has existed on the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola since the early 1500’s, when two Spanish brothers carried her image with them to their new home in Higuey, located in the southeastern corner of the island.
The enthusiastic Dominican devotion to her, however, grows out of a popular legend. The story goes that an old mysterious man gave the image, in an almost miraculous way, to a father for his daughter who had requested it. The image later disappeared from the house and reappeared in a blossoming orange tree. This occurred several times. These events were interpreted to mean that the image did not belong to one family, but to all Dominicans and should be displayed publicly in the local parish. A larger temple was dedicated in 1572 and the current Basilica in 1972 to display the image of the “Highest Grace” or Divine Maternity.