# Nuestra Señora de la O -- explanation please

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuestra-senora-de-la-o-explanation-please/242823>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 30, 2004, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuestra-senora-de-la-o-explanation-please/242823 "2004-04-30T07:59:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuestra-senora-de-la-o-explanation-please/242823/1 "2004-04-30T07:59:58Z")

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Looking through my handy guidebook to Spain, I see a number of cities have churches with the provocative name of Nuestra Señora de la O (the most prominent seems to be in Seville).

Any ideas on where this unusual title for Mary originated?

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**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuestra-senora-de-la-o-explanation-please/242823/2 "2004-04-30T10:41:15Z")

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Well, [here’s one explanation:](http://es.catholic.net/santoral/articulo.php?id=610)

> [@](#):
>
> El origen del título es no obstante más espiritual, más fino, más litúrgico y menos somático. Tiene su origen en que las antífonas marianas del rezo de vísperas comienzan con la O: O Sapientia, O Adonai, O Enmanuel… veni!

Essentially, it comes from the fact that many hymns to Mary start with the exclamation _O_.

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**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2004, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuestra-senora-de-la-o-explanation-please/242823/3 "2004-04-30T10:58:14Z")

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Well, acoording to this [website](http://www.udayton.edu/mary/questions/yq/yq239.html) it has something to do with the O-antiphons (vespers) sung during the latter part of advent. In other words, “Nuestra Señora de la O” refers to Mary just before giving birth. In fact, in Brazil, in the small village of Sabará, Minas Gerais, there is a chapel “Our Lady of O”, which is called “Nossa Senhora da Expectação do Parto” in Portuguese. this translates as “Our Lady waiting to give birth”.

It seems the “O” comes from the fact that the feast to celebrate “Nossa Senhora da Expectação do Parto” is the last week before Christmas, and this feast is celebrated by singing the seven antiphons or vespers, always preceded by an “O”, every day. kind of weird, but there you go.