This is a daily calendar of Marian events on every day of the year. It is compiled from various web sources, and Tan Books' "Marian Feast-Day Calendar." The calendar reveals the incredible diversity of Marian celebrations across the centuries and around the world.
With a few exceptions for major events such as The Annunciation, the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and other churches leave it up to the individual's own discernment and judgment whether to celebrate a particular Marian feast or to believe in a particular reported Marian miracle. This website presents the full range of information, leaving it up to you the reader to make your own decisions. For example, whether a feast for a medieval relic should be considered an interesting folk custom or an authentic recognition of a holy object is up to you to decide.
Reference aids:
In the Catholic calendar, feasts have the following rank: Simple; semi-double, greater double, double of the second class, double of the first class. Especially important feasts have "octaves", which means that the solemnity of the feast last for 8 days. The primary feast and its octave often have a different rank, with the octave being lower. Ranks and colors of liturgical calendar.
Maps of France and Italy. Other countries. Spanish calendar from major Spanish site.
Definitions of: Confraternity.
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Back to Main MaryLinks Page.
[An explanation about the brackets.] The beginning of the creation of this calendar was compiling lists from various websites which listed Marian days. Many of these lists had nearly identical items, and the lists almost never supplied citations or other background information. Much later, I discovered that the weblists are almost certainly traceable to an 1887 book. The book is by The Very Reverend Francis DeLigney, Society of Jesus; The Abbé Orsini; and John Gilmary Shea, Doctor of Laws. The title is Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church: A Repository of Catholic Instruction and Devotion (New York: The Office of Catholic Publications: 1887). Pages 1036 to 1066 contain a "Historical Calendar of Feasts of the Blessed Virgin. Foundation and Dedications of Churches in Honor of our Blessed Lady." So starting with November, I am adding bracketed quotations about particular days from this book. The book always supplies citations for the various feasts, and when possible, I have supplied additional information or links about the cited source.
1. Commemoration of the Divine Maternity. Marie de Monfort: "Christmas is an extended commemoration of the Divine Maternity . . . of her who gave birth to the Savior of the world" and "This maternity of Mary in the economy of grace is continued uninterrupted to the consummation of all the elect." ["Dedication of Our Lady of the Annunciation, at Florence, by Cardinal William d'Estonville, in the year 1452. There is preserved in this church, a picture of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, which was found miraculously finished when the painter, who had sketched it, prepared to put the finishing strokes to it." (Archangel; Janius.)"]
Octave of the Nativity. Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics. A "totum duplex" or "feast of the second class."
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The oldest Marian feast. Homily of John Paul II.
2. Abbey of Dunes (Abdij Ter Duinen) founded in honor of Mary. On the beach in Sint-Idesbald, Flanders, Belgium. 1128. New abbey built 1628–42 by Cistercian monks, and now a UNESCO world heritage site. The Abbey itself lies in ruins, but is a open to visitors. Article in Libraries & Culture, vol. 21, number 4, pages 778-779. The monks at the Abbey created Duinen Abbey Ales. [...founded "in the year 1128, by Fulk, a Benedictine monk. (Chronicon Bertiennae.)"]
3. ["Our Lady of Sichem, near Louvain, in the duchy of Braban. It is said that four drops of blood exuded from this statue in the year 1306. (Justus Dipsius in his History of Sichem, chapter 5.)"]
4. Madonna della Treviso, Italy. 746. Appears to St. Jerome Emiliani, 1530. ["Dedication of Our Lady of Treves, in Germany, in the year 746, by Hydolph, Archbishop of Treves. The Princess Genevieve, wife of Syfrede, Palatine of Treves, and daughter of the Duke of Brabant, erected this church in a wood, on the very spot where Our Lady appeared to her, and assured her that her innocence should one day be acknowledged. (Additions to Molanus, De sanctia Belgicis.")
5. Our Lady of Abundance/Prosperity. Cursi, Italy. 1641. Appears in the book Remember the Alamo, by Amelia Barr. The titles are frequently applied to Isis/mother goddess/etc. ["On this day in the year 1606, a paralytic man is said to have been miraculously cured in the Church of Our Lady of Sichem, in Brabant. (Justus Lipsius, History of Sichem, chapter 24.)"]
6. First public miracle of Jesus, performed at Mary's request. Marriage at Cana. Our Lady of Cana. John 2:1-10. Paintings by Arthur Cislo. Song. Scholars continue to debate the interpretation of this episode, in which Jesus harshly rebukes Mary's request that he turn water into wine, she continues undaunted, and Jesus then performs the requested miracle. [DeLigney here cites Saint Epiphanius, Haeres (Heresies) 51].
7. Our Lady of Egypt. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus return from Egypt to Israel. Pope John Paul II's speech at ecumenical celebration at Coptic/Catholic Our Lady of Egypt cathedral. [DeLigney here cites Martyrologium Romanum, 7 Jan. A 1597 edition of the book, written in Latin, is available on GoogleBooks.]
8. Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Patroness of New Orleans and Louisiana. Novena, litany, and prayers. History and links. Plaque at the Shrine:
"ON JANUARY 7, 1815, THE EVE OF THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS, URSULINES AND TOWNSFOLK PRAYED FOR VICTORY BEFORE THE VIRGIN'S STATUE, NOW IN THIS NATIONAL SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR. EVER AFTER, FIRST AT ST. LOUIS CATHEDRAL AND SINCE 1851 IN THE URSULINES' CHAPEL, MASS OF THANKSGIVING HAS BEEN SUNG ON JANUARY 8, FULFILLING MOTHER MARIE OLIVIER DE VEZIN'S VOW. THE STATUE OF OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR, BROUGHT FROM FRANCE IN 1810, WAS CROWNED BY ARCHBISHOP FRANCIS JANSSENS IN 1895, AFTER ESTABLISHING THE CONFRATERNITY OF OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR. ARCHBISHOP JOHN R. SHAW DEDICATED THIS VOTIVE SHRINE ON JANUARY 8, 1924."
Our Lady of the Commencement. Naples, Italy. Chapel begun by St. Helen, and dedicated by Pope Sylvester I. 320. [DeLigney here cites Petrus Stephanus, de locis sacris Neopolitania.]
9. Our Lady beyond the Tiber. Rome. 224. Built by St. Calixtus I. [DeLigney here cites Baronius in apparatu ad annales et in Annales ad Ann. 224.]
Our Lady of Clemency. Innsbruck, Austria. 1797. Ancient icon in Rome. Shrine in Philadelphia. In Salve mater redemptoris motet.
10. Our Lady of the Guides. Constantinople. ["one of the distaffs of the Blessed Virgin was shown, with some of the clothes of the infant Jesus, which St. Pulcheria bestowed on this church. (Nicephorus Tractatus 3, chapter 7)."]
11. Our Lady of Bessiere. Limouisin, France. ["A certain heretic, who had derided the devotion paid to this image, saw his house consumed, without being able to discover whence the fire originated. (Triple Couronne, book 1, Trait. 2, S. 10, n. 6)."]
12. Our Lady of the Broad Street. Rome. ["situated at the very spot where St Paul remained for two years, wearing an iron chain, where he preached the Gospel and wrote several of his epistles. (Triple Couronne, as above, n. 6.)"].
13. Revision of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin by Pope Pius V. 1571. [DeLigney here cites Balinghem on the Calendar.]
Our Lady of Victory. Prague. 1620. Church named in honor of Austrian Emperor Ferdinand II's victory of a Protestant army near Prague. The church now holds the Holy Infant of Prague statue, the world's most famous statue of the infant Jesus.
14. Our Lady of Speech (the Word). Near Montserrat, Spain. 1514. ["so called because it is asserted that she restored speech to a dumb man, in the year 1514. (Balinghem on the Calendar.)"].
15. Our Lady of Porch/Portico. Rome. ["where an image is seen which is said to have been brought from heaven by an angel to Blessed Gall, widow of of the consul Symmachus. (Ex Monumentia S. Mariea in Portico.)"].
Our Lady of the Crops. Syria.
Our Lady of Banneux. Belgium. 1933.
16. Our Lady of Montserrat. Spain. Rescues slaves from the Turks. [DeLigney here cites Historia Monstiserr.].
Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners.
17. Our Lady of Peace. Rome. 1843. ["In the year 1483 the Duke of Calabria, having besieged Rome, to punish Sixtus IV, for having prevented his aiding the Duke of Ferrara against the Venetians, this sovereign pontiff had recourse to the Queen of heaven, bound himself by a vow to build a church, under the title of Our Lady of Peace, if it should please her to deliver the city from the siege, and to restore peace to Italy. His prayer having been heard, he fulfilled his vow, by commencing a church, which was finished by Innocent VIII, his successor. (Gabriel Pennotus, Historia tripartia Canonicorum Regularium, book 3, cap. 33, sect. 2)."]
Notre Dame de Pontmain. France. 1871.
18. Notre Dame de Dijon. Burgundy, France. 1513. ["This image formerly named of Good Hope, delivered the city from the fury of the Swiss, in the year 1513; in thanksgiving for this favor, there is a general procession there every year. (Triple Courronne, n. 42)."]
19. Notre Dame de Gimont. Citeaux, near Toulouse, France. Cistercien monastery. ["This church of Citeaux is much celebrated in the country for its miracles. (Triple Couronne, n. 34)."]
20. Notre-Dame des Tables. Montpellier, France. "Arms of the City of Montpellier." Historic church built in 1230. The "tables" refers to the church's role as a center of international commerce. ["A very ancient and renowned church. The arms of the city are the Blessed Virgin holding her divine Son in her upon, upon a bezant, gules. (Triple Couronne, n. 38)."]
21. Our Lady of Alta Gracia (Highest Grace). Higuey, Santo Domingo. Patron saint of the Dominican Republic, and a very important element of folk religion there.
Our Lady of Consolation. Rome. ["...at the foot of the Capitol. This Madonna began to work miracles in the year 1471. (Triple Couronne, n. 43)."]
22. Eve of Espousals of Our Lady. Celebrated in France. ["Betrothal of Our Lady. This feast, celebrated privately in France many years ago by devout persons, was approved by Pope Paul III, in 1546. (Petr. Auratus Image Virtutus, c. 10.)"]
23. Espousals of Our Lady. Arras, France. Approved by Pope Paul III, 1546. Poem. ["Betrothal of Our Lady, according to the ritual of Arras. This feast began to be celebrated in the year 1556. (Monumenta Ecclesiae Atrebatensus.)"]
23-24. Ina Poon Bato fiesta. Zambales, Philippines.
24. Our Lady of Damascus. Syria. 1203. This icon was brought to Malta by the Knights of St. John in 1530, along with other icons, after the knights were driven out of Rhodes in 1523. It is currently stored in a Greek Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II visited it in 2001. There are numerous accounts of an oily substance oozing from the image. The history of the icon is detailed in Papas Vito Borgia's 11-page treatise Veneration for a Historic Icon (Malta: Publikazzjonijiet Indipendenza: 1992). The icon went on a Pilgrim Journey to Syria in 1999. ["From this picture, which is painted on wood, there is said to exude a miraculous oil which restored sigh, in the year 1203, to the Sultan of Damascu, and Mahommedan as he was, in acknowledgment of this benefit, he founded a lamp to perpetually burn before this picture. (Spondanaus, Annals, year 1203.)"]
Our Lady of Peace. Toledo, Spain.
Our Lady of Tears. Madonna del Pianto.
25. The Shroud of the Blessed Virgin is moved to Constantinople. 452. According to Cyril of Scythopolis's book Euthymian History, the Bishop of Jerusalem (Juvenal, not the same person as the Latin poet) sent the shroud to Constantinople in 452. He was ordered to do so by Eastern Roman Emperor Marcian and Empress St. Pulcheria, who was quite devoted to Mary, building churches to Mary as Mother of God. ["Translation of the winding-sheet and tomb of Our Lady to Constantinople, by Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, and under the reign of Marcian, in the year 455. (Ferrolus Locrius in Chronicon anacephal.)"]
26. Our Lady of Long Fields (Longchamps). Madrid/France. 1261. ["...founded in 1261, by Elizabeth, sister of St. Louis. (Gallia Christiana, t. 4)."]
27. Our Lady of Life. Venasque, Provence, France. ["The chronicle relates that this image has often restored life to children who died without baptism, in order that they might receive that sacrament. (Triple Couronne, n. 89)."]
28. Our Lady of Good Succor. Near Rouen, France. ["This image is very celebrated in the country. (Ex archivis hujus ecclesiae.)"]
29. Notre Dame de Chatilion-sur-Seine. France. 1130. ["St. Bernard had great devotion to this image, on account of a miracle which it wrought in his favor. (Triple Couronne, n. 43)."]
30. Our Lady of the Rose. Lucci/Lucca, Italy. Modern painting. ["Three roses were found in the month of January, in the arms of this image, according to a Latin chronicle. (Caesar Franciotte, Historia Lucensis.)"]
31. Apparition of Mary to Blessed Angela de Foligny/Foligno. Italy. 1285.
Third Sunday after Epiphany: Our Lady of Bethlehem. Patron Saint of Spanish architects. In 1459, Pope Pius II founded the Knights of Our Lady of Bethlehem, one of many Catholic Military Orders. They mission was to defend the Island of Lemmos, but it was quickly conquered by Muslim forces, and the Order was wiped out. There is modern group of the same name, but it is not recognized by the Vatican. "Our Lady of Bethlehem" remains a popular Marian title. Namesake of Brazilian city of Belem. Issued as a stamp by the government of Ethiopia. Famous medieval altarpiece in Flanders. Filipino girls born on this day are sometimes named Belen (Spanish for Bethlehem). Appears in chapter 25 of Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. Especially celebrated in Guatemala, since St. Pedro de San José de Betancurt, Guatemala's first saint, gave the name Nuestra Señora de Belén to the convalescent hospital he built, and also founded an oratory, "the House of Our Lady of Bethlehem," which became the Bethlemite religious order. In England, the Hospital of Our Lady of Bethlehem was an institution for the insane; the modern word "bedlam" is a derivative of this name.
Third Sunday after Epiphany: Nossa Senhora/Our Lady of Exile. Portugal. Benedictine abbey in Trinidad & Tobago. Title of a book examining in the Cuban diaspora in Miami.
1. Vigil of the Feast of the Purification. Paris.
Baptism of St. Louis de Montfort.
2. Purification of the Blessed Virgin (a/k/a Candlemas). After spending 40 days in seclusion, Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the Temple. In Puerto Rico, "Dia de la candelaria" (day of Our Lady of Fire). Also known as Presentation (Orthodox). ["This fear was instituted in the year 544, under the Emperor Justinian, on occasion of the plagues which ravaged Constantinople, where there often died ten thousand persons in a single day. In the year 71, Pope Sergius added to this feast the ceremony of solemnly blessing candles. (Baronius Annals ann. 544.)"]
3. Our Lady of Seidaneida/Saidenaida. Damascus, Syria. ["From this picture, which was painted on wood, inexhaustible oil exuded, whatever quantity was taken. The virtue of this oil was so great, that it healed even the infidels themselves. (Arnold, Abbot of Lubec cited by Baronius, ann. 870, and by Spondanus, ann. 1203.)"]
4. Our Lady of the Pillar (Nuestra Señora Del Pilar). Saragossa, Spain. The first Marian apparition. Scholarly debate. "The Mother of the Hispanic Peoples." ["According to the tradition, the Blessed Virgin appeared to St. James the Great upon a jasper pillar, in the year 36, and ordered him to build a church, which the Spaniards maintain to have been the first dedicated to Our Lady. (Beutereus, book 1, c. et 3.)"]
5. Dedication of the first temple of Our Lady. By St. Peter. Tortosa (now, Tripoli), Italy. ["(Canisius, book 5 de Beata Virgine, ch. 32.)"]
6. Our Lady of Louvain. Belgium. Painting. ["This Virgin, in high veneration in that country, began to work miracles in the year 1444. (Balingham on the Calendar.)"]
7. Our Lady of Grace. Abbey of Saint-Sauve, Montreil-sur-Mer. Rome. 1610. ["(Chronicon S. Salvi.)"]
8. Our Lady of the Lily. Near Melun, France. 13th century. ["This abbey of Cistercian nuns, was founded by Queen Blanche, mother of the King St. Louis. (Gallia Christiana, t. 4.)"]
9. Octave of the Purification of Our Lady. (End of the 8-day festival beginning on Feb. 2). ["Instituted in the Cathedral of Saints, on account, it is said, of the bells been having heard to ring most sweetly of themselves. The sacristans having run to the church, saw several unknown men, holding lighted tapers and melodiously chanting hymns in honor of the Blessed Virgin, who is venerated in a chapel of this church under the title of Our Lady of Miracles, and approaching softly, they besought one of the last of that august number to give them his taper, in proof of the miracle. This taper is religiously preserved in that church. (Saussey, Martyrlogium Gallicum, Feb. 9.)"]
10. Our Lady of the Dove. Near Bologna, Italy; Malaga, Spain (Virgen de la Paloma). Mexican retablo painting, Nuestra Señora de Paloma. Statue in St. Stephen's Church, Florida. "La Verbena De La Paloma" (The Festival of Our Lady of the Dove), zarzuela (Spanish operetta) by Tomas Breton. [The Italian church was "built, it is said, in a place where a dove designated, by flying round and round, for two days, about certain masons who were at work, and to whom it seemed to mark out a certain site. (Triple Couronne, n. 107.)"]
11. Our Lady of Lourdes. France. 1858.
St. Mary of Liques, near Calais, France. ["This monastery, of the order of the Premonstratensians, was found in the year 1131, by Robert, Lord of Liques. (Gallia Christiana, t. 4.)"]
12.
Notre Dame d'Argenteuil. Church/convent on the Seine River, near Paris, France. Sometimes said to have
been built by Clovis I in the year 101, although Clovis actually reigned 481-511. A setting for part of
the story of Abelard & Heloise. ["This priory preserves a portion of the seamless
garment of our Lord. (Thomas Bosius, book 9, de Signis, ecclesiae, c. 9.)"]
Our Lady of Iweron. Moscow
The Virgin of Mt. Athos. Moscow.
14. Our Lady of Bourburg. Flanders. ["It is asserted that this image having been struck by a wicked man, in the year 1383, the sacrilegious wretch fell dead on the spot. (Bzovius, ex Archivis ecclesiae Burbury.)"]
Notre Dame de Pellevoisin. France. 1876. Mary appears to Estelle Faguette,
a servant girl dying from tuberculosis, drives away a demon, and cures her. Institutes the
White Scapular. Full text of the book Constance Estelle
Faguette's book Our Lady of
Pellevoisin (Outremont Québec : Juvenate of the
Clerics of St. Viateur, approx. 1900).
Our Lady of Hope. Tajon, Mexico.
15. Notre Dame de Paris. France. ["First built by King Childebert, in the year 522; about the year 1257, King St. Louis erected a larger one in the same place, on the foundations which King Philip Augustus had laid in the year 1191. (Du Breuil, Theatre des antiquités de Paris, book 1.)"]
16. Our Lady of the Thorn. Châlons-sur-Marne, Champagne, France. 19th century. Name of a former convent in Portugal, now being reconstructed into a luxury hotel. ["So-named because this image was found under a white-thorn. (Triple Couronne, n. 54.)"]
17. The Immaculate Mother. Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
Our Lady of Constantinople. Bari, Turkey. History and map of the namesake church (now in ruins) in Constantinople (written in French). Church in Salento, Italy. Fourth-century story "in which the Virgin Mary was placed halfway up in a fountain. Legend has it that the fountain's waters were miraculous, especially healing the blind." ["Formerly the synagogue of the Jews, which was converted into a church of the Blessed Virgin by the Emperor Justin the Younger, in the year 566."]
18. Notre Dame de Laon. Rheims, France. ["Erected into a cathedral and founded by St. Remigius, Archbishop of Rheims, about the year 500, where he consecrated, as its first bishop, St. Geneband, his nephew. Miracles are wrought there; and, among others, we read that in the year 1395, there was seen on the steeple the picture of a crucifix, the wounds of which bled. (Thomas Walsingham, Hist. of England under King Richard I.)"]
19. Our Lady of Good Tidings. Lemdpes, near Rouen, France. 16th century. ["Where a great number of people are seen, particularly on Saturdays. (Triple Couronne, n. 52.)]"
20. Notre Dame de Boulogne-sur-Mer. France.["A statue is seen here which is said to have been brought in a ship by the ministry of angels, in the year 633. Louis XI have to this church a heart of solid gold, weighing two thousand crowns, in the year 1479, and he decreed that all the kings of France, his successors, should make the same present on their attaining the crown. (Triple Couronne, n. 53.)"]
21. Our Lady of Good Haven (Notre Dame de Bon Port). Dol, France. For mariners. ["(Triple Couronne, n. 51.)"]
22. Our Lady of Succor. Rennes, Brittany, France. ["(Triple Couronne, n. 51.)"]
23. Our Lady of Roches. Near Salamanca, Spain. Brotherhood of the Americas of Our Lady of the Rock (Also in Spanish). ["The image venerated here was found miraculously, in the year 434, by Simon Vela, who then erected a church. (Balingham on the Calendar.)"]
24. Pope Gregory the Great in 591 leads a procession in Rome with a painting of Mary, attributed to St. Luke, and a plague ends. ["(Balingham on the Calendar.)"]
25. Our Lady of Victory. Constantinople. (See also Oct. 7). ["The city was delivered from the siege of the Saracens by the aid of the Blessed Virgin, in the year 621. (Fereolus Locrius.)"]
Our Lady of Great Power. Quebec. 1673.
26. Notre Dame des Champs. (Our Lady of the Fields). Paris. ["Anciently dedicated to Ceres. St. Denis, after exorcising the evil spirits, consecrated it to Our Lady. A picture of the Blessed Virgin is still to be seen here, on a small stone, a foot square, which was made after that which St. Denis brought to France. This house, which is a Benedictine priory, was afterwards occupied by the Carmelites, who were received there in the year 1604, and founded by Catharine, Princess of Longueville. It was the first occupied by those nuns in France; Mother Anne of Jesus, the associate of St. Teresa, was its first superior. (Du Breuil, Théâtre des Antiquités, book 2.)"]
27. Nossa Senhora das Luzes/ Our Lady of Lights. Near Lisbon, Portugal; Palermo, Italy. [Regarding Lisbon, "A light was seen for a long time shining in this place, without any one being able to discover the cause of that phenomenon, when Our Lady, appearing to a prisoner, promised him liberty on condition of his erecting a church in her honor in this place, which she had chose. (Antonius Vasconcellius in Descriptions regni Lusitaniae, c. 7 § 5.)"]
28. Monastery of the Annunciation. Bethune, Artois, France. [Monastery instituted "by Francis de Melun and Loiusa de Foix, his wife, in the year 1519. (Ferelous Locrius)."]
Saturday before the last Sunday after Epiphany: Immaculate Heart of Mary, Refuge of Sinners. Paris.
"The month of St. Joseph"
1. Madonna della Croce. Crema, Italy. 1873.
Feast of the Immaculate Conception established by Pope Sixtus IV. 1476. ["a grant of indulgences to those who attend the offices of the church or Mass. (T. 4 Conciliorum)."]
2. Our Lady of Apparitions. Madrid, Spain. 1449. ["so called because in the year 1499, the Blessed Virgin appeared during a whole week to a young woman named Yves, and ordered her to build a church in her honor, on the spot where she should find a cross planted to Our Lady. (Life of the Blessed Jane)."]
3. Our Lady of Longpont/Longport. Valois, France. 1131. ["This abbey, of the Cistercian order, was founded in the year 1131, by Josselin, Bishop of Soissons. (Gallia Christiana, t. 4.)"]
Our Lady of Angels. Toulouse, France.
4. Our Lady of Guard (de la Garde). Aragon, Spain/Marseille, France. 1221. ["so called for having preserved from death a child who had fallen into a well, in the year 1221. (Bzovius, year 1221)."]
5. Our Lady of Good Succor/Aid/Help. Nancy, Lorraine, France; Montreal. 1657. ["This Madonna, it is believed, enabled René, Duke of Lorraine, to gain a victory over Charles the Bold, the last Duke of Burgundy." (Triple Couronne, n. 55)."]
6. Nossa Senhora do Nazareth. Pierre-Noire (Black Rock), Portugal. 1150. ["This image was honored at Nazareth in the time of the apostles, if we may believe a writing which was found, by a hunter, attached to this image, in the year 1150." (Triple Couronne, n. 13)."]
7. Nossa Senhora da estrala/ Our Lady of the Star. Villa-Viciosa, Portugal. ["so called from a star, which a shepherd saw shining where the church was built. (Triple Couronne, n. 17)."]
8. Our Lady of the Lily.
Nossa Senhora/Our Lady of Virtues. Lisbon, Portugal. Purity, prudence, humility, faith, piety, obedience, poverty, patience, charity, compassion. ["(Antonius Vasconcellius in Descriptions regni Lusitaniae, c. 7, section 5)."
9. Notre Dame de Savigny. France. 1112. ["Foundation of Savigny, in the diocese of Avranches, in Normandy, in honor of the Blessed Virgin, about the year 1112, by the blessed Vitalis, hermit, who was its first abbot. (Gallia Christia, t. 4)."]
10. Our Lady of the Vine. near Viterbo, Tuscany, Italy. ["a fine church, occupied at present by Dominancs. (Bzovius, ad ann., 1487)."]
11. Nossa Senhora das florestas/Our Lady of the Forests. Porto, Portugal, 12th century; Britain, 1419. Triptych Our Lady of the Forests. ["This image was found again in a forest, where it had been hidden by Queen Matilda, wife of Alphonsus L. (Joannes Barrius, book of Rebus Interammensibus, chapter 12)."]
Madonna da Costantinopoli Society. Bitritto (Bari).
12. Our Lady of Miracles. St. Maur des Fossés, near Paris, France. ["in the clister of St. Maur des Fossés, near Paris. It is said that this image was found made when the sculptor, named Rumold, was about to begin it. (Du Breuil, Théâtre des Antiquités, book 4.)"]
13. Our Lady of the Empress. Rome. 593. ["A tradition records that this image spoke to St. Gregory the Great, in the year 593. (Antonius Yepez, ad ann. 84, divi Benedicti.)"]
14. Our Lady of Kostrama. Russia.
Our Lady of the Breach (Notre Dame de la Brèche). Chartres, France. 1568. Picture of the church. ["where a procession takes place every year, in thanksgiving for Our Lady's having delivered the city, when besieged by heretics, in the year 1568. It was during this siege that not a cannon or musket ball fired by the besiegers at the image of Our Lady, placed upon the Drouiase gate, struck it, although the marks of them are still seen two or three inches from it. (Sebastien Rouillard, Parthènie, chapter 3.)"]
15. Our Lady of the Underground (Notre-Dame de Sous Terre; Our Lady of the Crypt). One of three venerated statues of Mary in the Chartres cathedral, in a subterranean chapel. Picture of the "Black Madonna" statue, probably of Celtic Druid origin; the original was burned during the French Revolution. Fraternity. Spanish I-Ching discussion. History. Medieval pilgrimage site. ["In the year 911, the city of Chartres was miraculously delivered from the siege laid to it by Rolle or Raoul, Duke of the Normans; for as he was on the point of taking the city, Gaucelin, the forty-seventh Bishop of Chartres, mounted on the top of the ramparts, holding a relic of Our Lady as an ensign, which struck such terror in the enemy's camp, that all retreated in disorder; in memory of this fact, the meadows of Drouaise gate are called, to this day, the meadows of the Republised (des Reculés). (Sebastien Rouillard, Parthénie, chapter 7, n. 5.)"]
16. Our Lady of the Fountain. (Panaghia Krena, Panayia tis Vrysis, Kyra-Vrysiani. La Virgen de la Fuente, Notre-Dame de la Fontaine). Constantinople. 460. ["built by the Emperor Leo, in the year 460, in thanksgiving for the apparition of the Blessed Virgin to him, near a spring, to which he was charitably leading a blind man, when he was merely a common solider, and the fact that she foretold he would be emperor. (Nicephorus, book 15, chapter 15.)"] Church on Greek Island of Chios. Monastery on Greek Island of Sifnos. Hermitage in Aragon, Spain. Pope John Paul II speech at shrine in Caravaggio, Italy, 1992; shrine was built as a result of a woman's vision of Mary on May 16, 1432; pilgrim's visit. In Robin Hood story. Story of pilgrim's 1494 visit to chapel in Jerusalem. Chapel in Chièvres, France:
"Legend has it that a miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary was tied to a tree near this fountain. A chapel was built on that spot by Eve de Chièvres, and became a 'sanctuary of grace' where still-born babies were presented in the hope a last breath of life would allow them to enter heaven. The chapel was torn down and rebuilt several times, the last being in the 1890s in a neo-gothic style popular at the time."
17. Institution of Our Lady's Office by Pope Urban II, in the Council of Clermont. 1095. (At this council, Urban II also responded favorably to a request from the Byzantine Emperor for help against an overwhelming Muslim force; Urban II preached the First Crusade, to regain Jerusalem and other territories which had been military conquered by Muslim armies. The Crusade succeeded, and founded a kingdom which survived for two centuries.) Urban II ordered that the town bell be rung three times every day in honor of the triple Angelical Salutation (Angelus Domini) to Mary on the Annunciation; the "Angelus" is still a frequent call to prayer in Ireland. Douay Catechism of 1649 explanation. Mary joins an acolyte to say the office:
"A novice, who was very devout to our Lady and a faithful lover of observance, while praying fervently one night after matins, fell into a light sleep at his prayers. It then seemed to him as if a lady of great beauty stood by his side and put her hands on his shoulders. Seeing that it was a woman, he called out in alarm: 'My God, how can women have got in here, and at this time of night!' But she soothed him by telling him in a gentle voice who she was, and inviting him to say with her the Little Hours of the blessed Virgin's office. He agreed, and began the Ave Maria, while she answered throughout. She seemed to recite her part so sweetly and gently that his heart was stirred wonderfully, more especially as she repeated the versicles after each chapter. As she said the versicle for none, 'Elegit eam Deus ' ('The Lord hath chosen her'), the tones sounded with such heavenly melody in the novice's ears that his whole heart melted, and was rapt in God. She disappeared, and he woke to find himself radiant with a joy he could not control. While preparing to serve as acolyte that morning, the same joy shone so brightly on his countenance that a fellow novice rebuked him for it; and as he could not contain himself for gladness, the other served mass in his stead. As this gaiety was an unusual thing with him, his companion questioned him thereon, and after a long time drew out of him the secret of what he had seen, under strict promise of not letting it be known: and that joy lasted for a very considerable time."
Our Lady of Ireland. (Madonna of Ireland). 1697. Statute at the National Cathedral, in Washington. Essay discussing visit to Our Lady of Ireland Chapel at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Washington.
["Foundation of the Abbey Baumont-les-Torres, by Ingestrude, in the year 600. (Gallia Christiana, t. 4)."]
18. Our Lady of Loretto. (The house where Mary and Joseph raised Jesus.) History and links. Cathedral built by Pope Sixtus V. 1586. ["having previously been a collegiate church. (Tursellini, Historia Lauretana, v. 10.)"]
Our Lady of Mercy. Patroness of Savona, Italy. Pope Pius VII freed from Napoleon's captivity in Savona this day, 1814. Connection to Our Lady of Mercy Sept. 24. Marian apparitions in Savona, including 1536 event which this feast commemorates. John Paul II speech on Pius VII and Savona. Statue in Buenos Aires. Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy. Saves Ajaccio, France, from the black death, 1656. Paintings from Savona Shrine.
19. Our Lady Fair (La Belle Dame, The Beautiful Lady). Nogent-sur-Seine, France. ["It is affirmed that it is impossible to remove this celebrated picture form its little chapel, which is only four or five feet square. (Ex monumentis Novigentenis.)"]
Solemnity of St. Joseph. 29 A.D.
20. Our Lady of Calevourt. Uckelen, near Brussels, Belgium. 1454. ["This image began to work miracles in the year 1454, which induced the erection of a magnificent chapel in honor of Our Blessed Lady, in the year 1623. The Infanta of Spain, Isabella Clara Eugenia, devoutly visited it in the same year. (Aub. Miraeus, in Annalis Belgicis.)"]
21. Our Lady of Bruges. Flanders. 1150. Relic of Mary's hair. ["where a lock of the Blessed Virgin's hair is exhibited, given by a Syrian bishop, named Moses. (Hugo Farcitus, book 1, Miracul. B. Virg.)"]
22. Notre Dame de Citeaux. France. 1098. [On Palm Sunday, in the year 1098, St. Robert, abbot of Molême, retired with twenty-one of his monks to the diocese of Châlons-sur-Saone, where he built, in honor of Our Lady, the celebrated monastery of Citeaux, the head house of the order. (Arnold Vionus, book 1; Lagni vitae, chapter 47.")]
Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary.
23. Our Lady of Victory. ["This image bears that name, because the French having fortunately taken it from the hands of the Greeks, during a sanguinary engagement with them near Constantinople, in the year 1204. they gained by means of it a complete victory. (Spandanus, Annals ann. 1204.)"]
24. Vigil of the Annunciation. Instituted by Pope Gregory II. ("On this day, Our Lady kept the Passover at Jerusalem, in the year of Our Lord 49. (Balingham, Metaphrastes.)"]
25. Annunciation. Instituted by the Apostles. The oldest Marian festival. [(John Bonifacius, book 2, Historia Virginis, chapter 5.)"] In years when this falls during Lent, the celebration is transferred to earlier in the Month. The day marked the beginning of the New Year in old style calendars.
26. Notre Dame de Soissons. France. 1128. ["occupied by the Benedictine nuns. In this abbey is seen one of the shoes of Our Lady. (Hugo Farcitus.)"]
27. ["Apparition of Our Lord to Our Lady immediately after his resurrection. (Alphonsus a Castro, chapter 17.)"]
28. Our Lady of Castelbruedo (Nuestra Señora de Castelbruedo). Olian, Catalonia, Spain. ["It is related that every year, on the day of the Annunciation, three lights were seen of a blue color, which shone through the lamps and wax candles, went out by the same way, and immediately disappeared. (Ludo Marinsaeus. book 5, de rebus Hispanicis, chapter ultimo.)"]
29. ["Apparition of Our Lady to St. Bonet, Bishop of Clermont, in Auvergne, whom she ordered to say mass one night when he had remained in the church to pray. The saint leaning against a pillar, as if to hide himself, the stone became soft and made the place for him, which is seen to this day. But the Blessed Virgin, having obliged him to officiate, she left him, when mass was over, the chasuble which had been brought him by angles to celebrate in. The heavenly present is still to be seen at Cleremont, where it is preserved with great care. (See his Life in Surius, Jan. 15.)"]
30. Notre Dame de Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. [Restoration of the chapel of Our Lady, at Boulogne-sur-mer, by Caude Dormy, bishop of that city. (Triple Couronne, n. 53)."] Photos of 19th century basilica, damaged in 1941, subsequently rebuilt. Contains statue which was popular pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages based on 7th century miracles.
31. Our Lady of Holy Cross. Jerusalem. ["where is kept a part of Our Lady's veil, given by St. Helena. (Onuphrius, book 7 Eccl.)"] Namesake of college in New Orleans.
1. Octave of the Annunciation. List of groups which celebrate this octave.
Our Lady of Tears. Syracuse, Italy. Statue which wept Aug. 29-Sept. 1, 1953. Shrine site, in seven languages.
Polish king Jan Casimir proclaims Mary the Patroness and Queen of Poland. 1656. The proclamation is in recognition of the defeat of the Swedish siege of Jasna Góra; the Polish victory at the "fortress of Mary" was attributed to her miraculous intercession. (For more, see Mark Wegierski, "Letter from Poland," Chronicles, Dec. 2005.) Treated at length in The Deluge, by the Nobel Prize-winning Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz. Appello di Giovanni Paolo II alla Madonna di Jasna Gora, June 19, 1983. On April 1, 2005, a letter from Pope John Paul II was delivered to the Jasna Góra prior; the Pope also sent new "crowns" for the icon.
2. Our Lady the Great. Poitiers, France. Orthodox icons. Church in Israel. ["where is shown an image of the Blessed Virgin, in whose hands the keys of the city were found miraculously while the mayor's servant was looking everywhere for them, to open the gates to the English, to whom he had promised to betray the city." (Jean Boucher, Annales d'Aquitaine.)"]
3. Apparition of Jesus to Mary and the Apostles eight days after the Resurrection. Date is based on the original celebrated date of Easter, March 25. Mary's presence is textually unclear.
4. Notre Dame de Grace. Normandy, France. ["This image is very famous in the country, and people come to venerate it from all parts. (Archives of the Church.)"]
5. Apparition of Mary to Pope Honorius IV, confirming the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Carmelite history.
Our Lady of Divine Providence. Cuassanio, Italy. 1856.
6. Our Lady of the Conception. Capuchin Convent, Douai (or Douay), France. ["where is seen a picture of the Immaculate Conception, which was miraculously preserved from fire, in the year 1553 (Amatus Franciscus, in his Manuscript Work.)"]
7. Our Lady of the Forsaken/of Puig. Valencia, Spain. ["This image is in a chapel, where it is said that a great noise is made when any one is drowned or assassinated near the city. (Triple Couronne, n. 28.)"]
8. Feast of the Miracles of Our Lady. Cambron, near Mons, Belgium. ["(Locrius.)"]
Our Lady of the Valley. 1040.
9. Notre Dame de Myans. Near Chambrey, Savoy, France. ["It is believed that this image, in the year 1249, prevented the lightening, which already consumed the town of Saint André with sixteen villages, from going farther, and was of the cause of its stopping at Myans. (Triple Couronne, n. 114.)"]
10. Notre Dame de Laval. Vivarais, France. 1646. ["This church is much visited for obtaining rain to preserve the fruits of the earth. (Triple Couronne, n. 41.)"]
11. Nuestra Señora de Montserrat. Spain. ["On this day a blind man is said to have recovered his sight in the Church of Our Lady of Montserrat, in the year 1538. (Balingham on the Calendar.)"]
Notre Dame de Fourviere. France.
12. Interior Life of the Blessed Virgin. Marianist Missal.
Our Lady of Charity. Abbey of the Feiullants, seven leagues from Toulouse, France. Cobre, Cuba. ["It is said that this image has several times wept. (Triple Couronne, n. 34).)"]
13. Our Lady of Mantua. Apparition of Mary to Blessed Jane of Mantua. 1640.
14. Apparition of Mary to St. Ludivina. 1433. ["(John Brushman.)"]
Our Lady of Guam.
15. Our Lady of Kieff. Russia. 1010.
["In the year 1011, the Blessed Virgin gave the white habit to the Blessed Alberic instead of the black which he wore. (See his life.)"]
16. Our Lady of Victory/Victories. Church of St. Mark, Venice. ["This is the famous image which the Emperors John Zimisces and John Comnenus carried in a triumphal car; it now borne in process at Venice to obtain rain or fine weather.)"]
17. Nossa Senhora/Our Lady of Arabida. Portugal. 16th century. ["where an image is seen which an English merchant used to carry about him. Finding himself one day in danger of a shipwreck, he saw his image, surrounded with a great light, on top of the rock of Arabida, which induced him to build a little hermitage there, in which he spent the remainder of his days. (Triple Couronne, n. 16.)"]
18. Pope Urban VI grants of Plenary Indulgences all visitors Church of Our Lady of Loretto/Loreto. 14th century.
19. Notre Dame de Lyons. France. 1643.
Council of Trent confirms the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. 1545.
20. Our Lady of Scheir. Bavaria, Germany. ["This church was built on the spot where the castle stood, which those in the house of Scheir voluntarily ceded to Our Lady, except Arnaud, who, in punishment of his obstinacy, was drowned in a neighboring lake. (Herith, de orgine gentis et principbus Bavariae.)"]
22. Notre Dame de Betharam. Diocese of Lescar, Bearn, France. 1503. ["This image was found, in the year 1503, by some shepherds, who, seeing an extraordinary light on the spot where a high altar of the chapel now stands, came up and found an image of Our Lady, for which they at once erected a chapel. (Triple Couronne, n. 32.)"]
23. Pope Calixtus III grants Indulgences to visitors of the Cathedral of Arras, which holds a Marian veil and cincture (sash). 1455. ["(Andreas Herby, from the Manuscripts of the Church of Arras.)"]
Our Lady of Mende. Africa. 16th century.
24. Madonna della Bonaria. Sardinia, Italy. 1370. Mary is declared Patron of Sardinia in 1908.
["Dedication of Our Lady of Reparation, at Florence, by Eugenius IV, in the year 1435 (Balingham on the Calendar.)"]
25. Dedication of the Lower Holy Chapel in honor of Mary. Paris. ["by Philip, Archbishop of Bourges, in the year 1248 (Du Breuil, Théâtre des Antiquités.)"]
Our Lady of Good Counsel of Genazzano, Italy. 1467. History.
26. Mother/Our Lady of Good Counsel. Detailed history.
["Our Lady of Naïera, in Navarre (Spain). This image was found miraculously in the year 1048; Dom Garcias de Naïera, King of Navarre, built a church for it, which several kings of Navarre visited. (André Favin, book 3, Hist. de Navarre.)"]
Our Lady of Genazzano. Italy, south of Rome. Detailed history.
27. Notre Dame d'Haut. Hainaut, France. Church built by Le Corbusier, 1955.
Nuestra Señora de Montserrat. Spain. 1535. Patrona de Cataluña. Wikipedia (Spanish). Black Madonna.
["It is said that in the year 1419, Our Lady de Haut, in Hainault, restored a child to life who had been dead three days. (Justus Lipsius, History of Our Lady of Hal, c. 19.)"]
28. Our Lady of the Oak (Notre-Dame du Chêne). Near Sablé, Anjou, France. In Middle Ages. As Druidic custom absorbed by Christianity. ["This image has wrought so many miracles, that it is at present very famous in the country; Marshal de Bois-Dauphin built a fine church for it, and a house of reception for the pilgrims. (Triple Couronne, n. 50.)"]
Nuestra Señora de Quito (Our Lady of Quito); Our Lady of the Earthquake. Quito, Ecuador. 1534. Discussed in visit of John Paul II to Quito.
29. Our Lady of Faith. Augustinian convent, Amiens, France. ["This image remained a long time in the cabinet of a young lady, who made a present of it to the church of the Augustinians, where it was wrought many miracles. (Augustinian Manuscripts, Amiens.)"]
Our Lady Queen of Orphans. Celebrated by the Somaschians.
30. Notre-Dame de Nantes. Bretagne, France. ["This church, dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul, by Felix Bishop of Nantes, was demolished by the Normans in the year 937, and rebuilt by Alain, Duke of Brittany. (Fortunatus, book 3; Carm. c. 1, 2, 3, and 4.)"]
Our Lady of Africa. Algiers. 1876. Celebrated by the White Fathers.
Friday after Passion Sunday: The Sorrows of Our Blessed Mother
Friday after Easter: Our Lady, the Source of Life (Zoodochos Pighi). Turkey. 14th century church.
Saturday after Low Sunday: Notre-Dame de Fourviéres. Lyons, France. Cathedral.
Second Sunday after Easter: Our Lady of the Pearls. Palermo, Italy.
Our Lady of the Valley Catamarca, Argentina.
Monday after Low Sunday: Joys of Our Lady. Rosary.
Fourth Sunday after Easter: Our Lady of Light. Lujan, Argentina.
Our Lady of Consolation. Luxembourg.
Our Lady of Publito. Queretaro, Mexico.
May is the greatest Marian month of all, traditionally known as the "Month of Our Lady." She begins the month as Queen of May, and final day of the month brings a bevy of Queenly titles. It is the month when the spring of new life flourishes. Poetry on May as Mary's month.
1. Queen of May.
Donation of the May-pole to the church of Notre Dame. 1449. ["In the year 1449, some of the principal goldsmiths of Paris began to give the May-pole to the Church of Our Lady. (Du Breuil, Antiquités de Paris, book 1)"]
2. Our Lady of Oviedo. Spain. 711. ["where they possess some of the Blessed Virgin's hair. (Balingham on the Calendar.)"]
3. Our Lady of Jasna Góra. Poland. The most famous of all the "Black Madonna" paintings, attributed to St. Luke. The Polish national Madonna. Mary is credited with turning back a Turkish invasion around 1453. Mentioned early in the great Polish epic poem "Pan Tadeusz." Our Lady of Jasna Gora was an immense source of inspiration and strength for Solidarity members, especially including Lech Walesa, in the worker and peasant struggle against hegemonic neo-colonial exploitation by the atheist Communist ruling elite.
Our Lady of Kiev. Ukraine.
["Apparition of Our Lady to the Blessed Mary Razzi, of the order of St. Dominic, in the year 1597. (Balingham on the Calendar.)"]
4. Our Lady the Helper/of Succor. "Three leagues" from Caen, Normandy, France. ["Every year a solemn procession is made to this chapel. (Triple Couronne, n. 51.)"]
Notre-Dame-des-Victoires. Church in San Francisco founded in 1856, and named in gratitude for the Anglo-French victory in the Battle of Sevastopol, during the Crimean War. For more, see France-Amerique, Dec. 17-23, 2005.
5. ["Our Lady, on the Mount of Olives, witnesses the Ascension of Our Lord, and then returns to Jerusalem, to retire into the upper room with the apostles. (Act 1)."]
6. Our Lady of Miracles. Church of Our Lady of Peace, Rome. 1483. ["It is related that in the year 1483, a man who had lost his money by gaming, after blaspheming this picture, gave it four stabs with a dagger, and that it bled so copiously that the miracle was at once divulged all over the city. This picture is still preserved in the Church of Our Lady of Peace, where it is to be seen at the high altar, set in marble. (Gabriel Pennotti, History of the Canons Regular, book 3, c. 33, section 2.)"]
7. Second feast of Our Lady of Haut. Hainault, France. ["where is seen one of the three little statues of the Blessed Virgin which St. Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew II, King of Hungary, had religiously honored, and which she left by will to her holy daughter Sophia, who gave it to the church of Haut, in the year 1267. Several miracles have been since wrought by it. (Justus Lipsius, History of Our Lady of Hal, c. 3.)"]
8. Madonna della Pompeii. Italy.
["In the year 1202, the learned Justus Lipsius gave his silver pen to the Church of Our Lady of Haut, in Hainault, where it is still seen hanging before the high altar. (See his life.)"]
9. Our Lady of Miracles. Mauriac, France.
Madonna della Loretto. "in the March of Ancona," Italy. ["This chapel is the house of Nazareth, where the mystery of the Redemption was announced. (Turselini, History of Loretto, book 1, c. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10.)"]
10. Our Lady of Saussai/Saussaie. Near Paris, France. 1305. ["The church of this Benedictine priory was dedicated to Our Lady, in the year 1305, by Pope Clement V.)"]
Constantinople is dedicated to Mary "by Constantine the Great, under the patriarch Alexander." 4th century. (Nicephorus, book 8, c. 26.)"]
11. Mary appears to St. Philip Neri. 1594. ["whom she healed of a serious malady" (See his life.)"]
Nossa Senhora Aparecida. Patroness of Brazil.
12. Humility of Our Lady.
Our Lady of Power/Virtues. Aubervillers, near Paris, France. ["This image has wrought so many miracles in this church, that it is called Our Lady of Virtues, though it is dedicated to St. Christopher. (Du Breuil, book 4.)"]
13. Our Lady of Martyrs. Rome; Lisbon. ["called the Rotunda, at Rome, by Boniface IV, in the year 608. This temple was called the Pantheon, because it was dedicated to all the gods of paganism. (Beda, book 2, History of England.)"]
Nossa Senhora/Our Lady of Fatima. Portugal. 1917.
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament.
Mary appears to Théresè of Lisieux.
14. Our Lady of Bavaria. Germany.
["Dedication of Our Lady of Noyon, by Hardouin, thirty-seventh bishop of the same city, in the year 998. (Chronicon Annoniae, t. 3.)"]
15. Notre-Dame de France. 1860.
["Descent of the Holy Ghost upon our Lady and the apostles, in the year 34 of our Lord and the forty-eighth of the age of the Virgin. (Christopher a Castro, Historia Virginis.)"]
16. Mary appears to St. Catherine of Alexandria. 4th century. ["whose body was discovered on the 13th of this month, on Mount Sinai, in consequence of the revelation which the Queen of Heaven gave. (See her life.)"]
17. Our Lady of Tears. Duchy of Spoletto/Spoleto, Italy. ["It is said that this picture, painted on a wall, shed many tears in the year 1494. (Gabriel Pennotus, book 3, Historia Tripartita, c. 34.)"]
18. Notre-Dame de Bonport. "of the Cistercian order, near the Pont de l'Arche, in the diocese of Evreux," France. ["This abbey was founded by Richard Couer de Lion, on the 11th of March, in the year 1190. (Gallia Christiana, t. 4.)"] Mary saves Richard the Lionheart while he is crossing the Seine. Wikipedia entry, in French. Pictures and brief history, in French. Bibliographical information about 1904 architectural study (item 375). Also the subject of Jules Andrieux, Cartulaire de l'abbaye royale Notre Dame de Bonport (1862); J. Daoust, "L'abbaye Notre-Dame de Bonport" in Collectanea Cisterciensia (1958), pages. 250-258.
19. Notre-Dame de Flines. Douay, France. ["by Peter, Archbishop of Rheims, in the year 1279. This abbey of nuns, in the order of Citeaux, was given to St. Bernard by Margaret de Dampierre in the year 1234. (Chronicon Fliniense.)"]
20. Church of La Ferté is dedicated to Mary. Diocese of Chalons, in Burgundy, France. ["This abbey, the eldest daughter of Citeaux, was founded in the year 1113 by Savarie and William, Counts of Chalons. (Ex Archiviis Abbatis Firmitatis.)"]
21. Our Lady of Sweat. Salerno, Italy. ["It is said that this Madonna sweated blood and water in the year 1611, as a presage of the great conflagration which happened the following day. (P. Spinelli, Tractatus de examplis et miraculis, last chapter.)"]
Our Lady of Vladimir. Russia. 1115.
22. Madonna della Mount Vergine (Virgin's Mount). near Naples, Italy. 1119. ["This image preserved from the flames the monastery and church consecrated in her honor. (P. Spinelli, Tractatus de examplis et miraculis, last chapter.)"]
23. Our Lady of Miracles. St. Omer's, Belgium. ["where a glove and some portion of the hair of the Blessed Virgin are preserved)."] Brescia, Italy. 1478.
24. Our Lady of the Way. Rome.
["Gregory XV, in the year 1622, issues a decree forbidding any to uphold opinions adverse to the Immaculate Conception. The same decree forbids the use in mass or office of any other term than that of Conception. (Balingham on the Calendar)."]
25. Our Lady of the New, at Jerusalem. Built by Emperor Justinian. Jerusalem, Israel. 530. [(Procopius, de Edific. imperatoris Justiniani)."]
26. Dedication of Notre-Dame de Vaucelles. Cambrai, France. Built in 1140. ["by Samson, Archbishop of Rheminas. This abbey, of the order of Citeaux, was founded in the year 1132)."] French site about the abbey. French history.
Madonna della Caravaggio. Italy. 1432.
27. Dedication of Madonna della Naples. Italy. ["called St. Mary Major, by Pope John II, in the year 533. A picture of the Blessed Virgin, painted by St. Luke, was carefully preserved in this church. (Schraderus, book 2)."]
28. Feast of the Relics of Our Lady. Venice, Italy. ["where are exposed to the veneration of the faithful, portions of the robe of the Blessed Virgin, of her mantle, veil, and girdle. (History of the Relics published at Venice)."]
Mary armed with a spear saves Rhodes. 1480. Web summary of the account in Robert Ernst, Lexikon der Marienerscheinungen (Lexicon of Mary Appearances) (1980):
the year 1480 40,000 Turks besieged the fortress of Rhodus, which was defended by the Knights of St. John; the then Grand Master Pierre d'Aubusson then dared to start with his knights a counter-attack. It is reported that during this fight Mary appeared in heaven. In her right hand, she held a spear, and in her left hand, a shield. In any case, the Knights of St. John were able to beat off the attack of Mohammed II against Rhodus victoriously from 23rd to 28th of May 1480.
More history of the siege.
29. Notre-Dame d'Ardents. Arras, France. ["a wax candle is kept in the cathedral of Arras, which is held to have been brought thither by Our Lady, in the year 1095. (Jacobus Neyer in Annals of Flanders, ann. 1095)."]
30. Dedication of the Church of the Virgin's Mountain/Mount Vergine. near Naples, Italy. Monastery founded by St. William. Home of a Black Madonna. ["built in the year 1126, by St. William, founder of the order of Monte Vergine, and repaired in the year 1519 (John Juvenal, book 3, de Antiquitatibus, c. 3)."]
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Mexico. 1966. Litany. History. Daughters of Our Lady of Sacred Heart, religious order.
31. Annual pilgrimage to the chapel of Mary, Help of Christians, in Tra Kieu, Vietnam.
Our Lady of Suffering (Notre-Dame-des-Douleurs). "This image which was at the corner of des Rosiers Street, was mutilated...in the year 1528; Francis I had it solemnly carried to St. Gervase, and he ordered a statute to be made of silver gilt, which he himself set up in the place of the first. This statute was stolen in the year 1545, and another of stone was substituted for it, which always retained the name of Our Lady of Silver. (Du Breuil, Théâtre des Antiquités, book 3)."] Church of St. Gervase, Paris. Chapel in Ultrera, Seville.
Feast of the Visitation. New. Based on Mary's visit to Elizabeth, in Luke 1:39-56, where Mary spoke The Magnificat. Reflection. (Also see July 2).
Mother of Fair Love. The title comes from Ecclesiasticus 24:23-31:
I bud forth delights like the vine,
my blossoms become fruit, fair and rich.
I am the mother of fair love, and of fear,
and of knowledge, and of holy hope.
In me is all grace of the way and of the truth,
in me is all hope of life and of virtue.
Come to me, you yearning ones, and be filled,
for my speech is sweeter than honey,
my inheritance better than honey and the honeycomb.
Our Lady, Queen of all Saints. Analysis of the title. In homily by Pope John Paul the Great. In the Litany of Saints, "The invocation 'Queen of All Saints' was added by Pope Pius VII when he returned to Rome after his long imprisonment by order of Napoleon."
Mary, Mediatrix of all Graces
Saturday within the Octave of the Ascension: Queen of the Apostles (Regina Apostolorum). Oblates. Apostoline Sisters. Icon and history. Doctrine.
Sunday before the Ascension: Madonna della Guardia. Bologna, Italy
First Sunday in May: Our Lady of Miracles. Andria, Italy.
Our Lady, Queen of Lebanon.
Second Sunday in May: Our Lady of the Defenseless. Madrid, Spain.
Second Sunday in May: Our Lady of Grace. Celebrated by the Hieronymites.
Second Sunday in May: Our Lady of Pontoise/Notre-Dame de Pontoise/Notre-Dame de la Santé (Our Lady of Health). Pontoise, France:
Originally constructed in 1177, this church is now a Basilica. Beginning in 1640, the inhabitants of the city began an annual procession in Mary's honor, and placed a statue of Mary at each entrance to the village. The ceremony was credited with ending the village's frequent pestilence. Song. History of the church's miraculous statue of Mary. Society for restoration of the church's historic organ.
1. Our Lady of the Star. Aquiles/Aquileia, Italy. 15th century. ["...because a star was seen, in open day on the head of St. Bernadine of Siena, when, preaching at Aquileia, he applied to the Blessed Virgin that passage of the Apocalypse [Book of Revelation], where it is that there were twelve stars on her hand. (Surius)."]
Our Lady, Health of the Sick. Kevelaer, Germany.
Notre Dame de Grace. Montreal, Canada.
2. Our Lady of Edessa. Turkey. 400. Statue that spoke to St. Alexis ["and made known to the people the merit of that saint. Thence it was removed to Rome, where it is highly honored. (Thomas Bosius, book 8, c. 9)."]
Installation of the Robe of the Mother of God (Orthodox).
3. Madonna della Sosopoli/Sasopoli. Pisedia, Italy. 14th century. ["This image distilled a miraculous oil, as is testified by Germanus, patriarch of Constantinople, in a letter read at the second council of Nice, assembled for the defence of holy images (Article 4 of the Council of Trent)."]
Our Lady of the Holy Letter.
4. Our Lady of the Hill. Fribourg, Switzerland; Lombardy, Italy. 4th century. ["...where many miracles were wrought. (Triple Couronne, n. 85)."]
5. ["The chronicle relates that in the year 1428, Our Lady of Haut, in Hainault, restored a child to life, who had been dead several days, that he might receive baptism; that he lived five hours after receiving the sacrament, and then melted away by degrees, like snow, in the presence of seventy persons. (Justus Lipsius, History of Our Lady of Hal, ch. 21)."]
6. St. Francis de Sales founds the Nuns of the Visitation of Our Lady. Annecy, Savoy, France. 1610, ["by St. Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, and St. Jane Frances Fremiot de Chantal, who was the first nun. (Henri de Maupas du Tour, 2d part, ch. 1)."]
7. Dedication of Our Lady of the Valley/Val. Cistercian Order. "Seven leagues from Paris." April 18, 1616. During the reign of Louis XIII.
Our Lady of Marienthal. Germany. 13th century.
8. The Immaculate Heart of Mary. New.
Our Lady of Alexandria. Egypt. 4th century. ["built by St. Peter, patriarch of this city. (Baronius, ann. 310)."]
9. Our Lady of Ligny. Near Bac-le-Duc, Lorraine, France. ["This image is very famous for the frequent miracles wrought there. (Triple Couronne, n. 57)."]
Mother of Grace. Prayer. Long prayer. Short prayer. Celebrated May 8 by Augustinians. Modern sculpture.
Madonna della Meentorello. Italy.
10. Our Lady of Cranganor, India. ["It is asserted that this church was built by one of the three Magi. (Osorius, t. 1, de Gestis Emman.)"]
11. Our Lady of Esquernes, half a league from Lille, Flanders, France. ["This image began to work miracles about the year 1162. (Buzelinus, Annals of Gaul, book 2.)"]
12. ["The chronicle records that on this day Our Lady appeared to St. Herman, of the Premonstratensian order, and gave him a lock of her hair. (See his life in Surius.)"]
13. Our Lady of Sichem, near Louvian, Belgium. 1604. Dedication by Mathias Hovins, Archbishop of Mechlin. ["The image of the Blessed Virgin seen in this church was originally placed in the hollow of an oak-tree. (Justus Lipsius, de Virg. Aspricol., c. 4.)"] The original Sichem was an Israeli town. Christians built a church dedicated to the Virgin in the fifth century, but the Christian population was later wiped out by Muslims. In the "Little Office of the Virgin Mary" for Wednesday mornings, one line of the prayer states, "I will rejoice, and I will divide Sichem and I will mete out the vale of tabernacles."
14. Notre Dame d'Arras. France. 371. Mary saves the people of Arras from famine by sending them bread from heaven. Black Madonna. ["(Archives of the Abbey of Trull.)"] The most remarkable primitive Gothic cathedral in the Pas-de-Calais was Notre-Dame d'Arras, but the cathedral, like many others in this war-torn region, was destroyed.
15. Our Lady of the Bernadines/Feuillants. (Notre Dame des Feuillants). Toulouse, France. 1145. History of the Order. More history, in French.
Our Lady of the Taper. Cardigan, Wales. History. Wood sculpture.
16. Our Lady of Aix-la-Chapelle. Germany. Built by Charlemagne and consecrated by Pope Leo III in 804. ["where there were assembled three hundred and fifty prelates. Charlemagne gave to this church two tunics of Our Lady, in the year 810, from which Charles the Bald took one, sixty-five years afterward, to give to the church of Chartres. (Ferreolus Locrius, book 5, Mariae, Aug. c. 17.)"]
17. Our Lady of the Forest. Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. ["This little chapel is very celebrated in that country. (Triple Couronne, n. 53.)"] Shrine in Illinois.
18. Mary appears to St. Agnes of Mount Politian/Montepulciano. Italy. ["with whom, it is said, she left a small cross, which is still shown with great solemnity, on the 1st of May. (Chronicle of St. Dominic, part 1, book 1, c. 72.)"]
19. Madonna della Monte Senario. Florence, Italy. 1240. And the Servite Order/the Order of the Friar Servants of Mary. Servite Order.
Church of St. John the Evangelist, Treves, Germany. Built in 333 by its namesake, containing ["the comb of Our Lady, given by Agritius, archbishop of that city."]
20. Our Lady of Blaquernes/Blachernae. In the harbor at Constantinople. Basilica. ["where they possess the winding-sheet of Our Lady, given by the Empress St. Pulcheria, who had received it from Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem. (Nicephorus, book 15, c. 14.)"]
Our Lady of Consolation. Luxumburg. 1624. Shrine in West Grinstead, England.
21. Our Lady of Matareih. Grand Cairo, Egypt. ["where is seen a miraculous fountain which Our Lady obtained by her prayers, when she fled thither with the Holy Family; and it is held, by tradition, that there she washed the swaddling clothes of the Infant Jesus. (Triple Couronne, n. 5.)"]
22. Madonna della Narni. Italy. 15th century. Painting of Mary speaks to the virgin stigmatine Blessed Lucy of Narni (1476-1547), ["to whom she gave the Infant Jesus to hold. (Triple Couronne, Trait. 3.)"]
23. ["The Justinian Madonna at Carthage. This church was built by the Emperor Justinian, in honor of the Blessed Virgin, to whom he attributed the victories which he gained over the Vandals. (Baronius, year 534.)"]
24. Our Lady of Clos-Evvard, near Treves. ["This image was fastened to an oak by a vinedresser, who wished to honor it; but Our Lady ordered him to build a small hut in her honor. The miracles which were wrought there caused this hut first to be exchanged for a little chapel, and at last for a church, which was dedicated in the year 1449, by James of Rircq, Archbishop of Treves. (Triple Couronne, n. 82.)"]
25. Council of Ephesus declares Mary to be the Mother of God, the "Theotokas." 431.
26. Our Lady of Malabar/Meliapour/Meliapore. India. 1542. The Apostle Thomas was said to have preached in India, and founded the Church of the Syrian Malabar Christians. ["where St. Francis Xavier often retired to pray. (See his Life.)"]
27. Notre Dame de la Dorade. Toulouse, France. ["This place, which was formerly dedicated to the goddess Pallas, was changed into a church of Our Lady, when the inhabitants received the faith. (Forcat. book 1, de Gallico Imperio.)"]
Our Lady of Perpetual Help/Succor. Painting. Analysis of the picture. Icon. More on the icon. Story of the image. Prayer. Irish novena. American novena. Perpetual novena. Light a candle, receive devotional materials, prayers, a prayer card, etc. Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Medals & chains. Shrine. Modern icon. Namesake of many churches and schools.
28. The Angelus is instituted throughout Europe by Pope Callistus III in 1456, although its origins are hundreds of years earlier. The set of two or three daily prayers (6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m.) commemorates the Annunciation. History and modern usage.
["Dedication of the church of the Carthusians of Paris, under the title of Our Lady, by John d'Aubigny, Bishop of Troyes, in Champagne, in the year 1325. (Du Breuil, Théâtre des Antiquités, book 2.)"]
29. Notre Dame de Buglose. Landes, Gascony, France. ["This image was miraculously fund in the year 1634, and removed to the parish of Buglose. (Triple Couronne, n. 36.)"] History of the shrine.
30. Notre Dame de Calais. France. 1347. Built by the Anglo-Normans when they controlled the north coast of France. Chapel added in 1631, by James de Bolloye, parish priest of Calais. (Davila, t. 2).
Our Lady of the Rose. Patroness of Makati, Philippines.
Third Sunday after Pentecost: Nossa Senhora da vela miraculous/Our Lady of the Miraculous Candle. Portugal.
Saturday after the Octave of Corpus Christi: Most Pure Heart of Mary. History, detailing wide variety of celebration dates. Carmelite province. Congregation of the Handmaids of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, for black nuns in Georgia. Prayer.
Third Sunday in June: Our Lady of Pious Schools. Celebrated by the Piarists (a/k/a Poor Clerks of the Mother of Godor Ordo Clericorum Regularium Pauperum Matris), an educational Order.
1. Dedication of the Church of Jumieges in honor of Mary. Normandy, France. 1067. ["by Maurice, Archbishop of Rouen, at the instance of King William. (Thomas Walingham.)"]
2. Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin. Instituted by Pope Urban VI. 1385. Confirmed by Pope Boniface IX in 1389. ["(Antoine, 4 part, tit. 15, chap 24.)"]
Unveiling and blessing of the statue of Our Lady of Penrhys, Wales. 1953.
3. Notre Dame de la Carolle. Paris. 1418. ["It is said that this image, which was placed at the corner of the Rue aux Ours, was stabbed with a knife, in the year 1418, and that it bled profusely. In memory of this, fireworks are set off each year, in which a waxen figure is burnt, which represents the sacrilegious wretch who have the blow. (Du Breuil, book 2.)"]
4. Our Lady of Miracles. Avignon, France. Church built by Pope John XXII. 14th century. ["on the occasion of two criminals being condemned to the fire; one who had invoked the Blessed Virgin was spared by the flames, while the other was entirely consumed. (Richard of Cluny, Life of John XXII.)"]
Our Lady of Refuge. Pueblo, Mexico.
5. Notre Dame de Cambrai/Cambray. Arras, France. 1472. Dedication ["by Peter de Rauchicourt, Bishop of Arras. This church was built in honor of Our Lady, in the year 524; reduced to ruins by the Normans in the year 882; rebuilt by Dossillon, twenty-first Bishop of Arras, in the year 890; and finally, after having been burnt in the years 1064 and 1148, it was put in its present condition in the year 1251. (Chronicon Hannnon, t. 3, book 2, chap. 23.)"]
6. Notre Dame d'Iron. Blois, Dunois, France. ["It was in this chapel that, about the year 1631, a child, who had been smothered by struggling in its cradle, came to life the moment that its parents had dedicated it to Our Lady of Iron. (Archives of the Chapel.)"]
7. Our Lady of Roermund. Netherlands. 1380.
["Dedication of Our Lady of Arras, in the year 1484, by Peter de Ranchicourt, bishop of that city. This city was built by St. Vaast, Bishop of Arras, in the year 542, according to Baronius, by the liberal donations of the first kings of France. The Normans destroyed it in the year 583, and, after being rebuilt, it was burnt by lightning in the year 1030, and built again in the year 1040. (Locrius, book 1.)"]
["It is related that, in the year 1401, Our Lady of Haut, in Hainault, restored life to a child of Brussels who had drowned in a well. This child, having been taken out of the well dead, was devoted to Our Lady, and he immediately came to life. (Justus Lipsius, History of Our Lady of Hal, ch. 16.)"]
8. Our Lady of Kasan/Kazan. Russia.
Our Lady of Peace. Capuchin Convent, Rue St. Honoré, Paris.
9. Our Lady of Aberdeen, Scotland, under the title Our Lady of Good Succor.
Our Lady of Itali. Argentina.
Prodigies of Our Lady. Miracles of Our Lady.
Notre Dame de Coutances. France. Dedicated by Geoffrey de Mowbray, 1056.
10. Notre Dame de Boulogne. France. 1469. ["by Chartier, Bishop of Paris. The confraternity of our Lady of Boulogne is so illustrious that six of our kings have chosen to belong to it. (Du Breuil, Antiq., book 4.)"]
11. Notre Dame de Clery. "four leagues from" Orleans, France. ["This church was rebuilt by King Louis XI, who was buried there in the year 1483. (Locrius, M. Aug. book 4, c., 68.)"]
12. Our Lady of All Graces. ["at the convent of the Minims of Nigeon, near Paris, in the year 1578. This house was given in the year 1476, by Ann of Brittany, wife of Louis XII, to St. Francis of Paulia, who had instituted his order in the year 1436. (Du Breuil, Antiquités de Paris.)"]
Notre Dame de Lure. Avignon, France. 1110.
13. Notre Dame de Chartres. In 100 B.C., an statue of Mary seated on a throne and holding a child on her knees was carved in the forest on the plains of Beance, with the Latin inscription "Virgin pariturae" ("To the Virgin who is to bring forth.") The statue and altar are known as ""Virgini paritur" and were built by Druids, at the order of King Priscus, on a Druid sacrifice cave. Religious history of Chartres, one of the most important cathedrals of the Middle Ages. As a locus of eastern and western Christian unity. Pilgrimage history. Music album. See also Aug. 6, Aug. 17, Oct. 17, Dec. 22, Dec. 31. ["St. Potentianus, second Bishop of Sens, whom the Apostle St. Peter had sent into France, stopped at Chartres, where he blessed his image, and dedicated the cavern as a church, in the year of Jesus Christ 46. (Sebastian Rouillard, Parthén, c. 4 n. 1.)"]
14. Nossa Senhora do arbusto/Our Lady of the Bush. Portugal. ["The image was seen in the middle of a burning bush by a shepherd; Vasquez Perdigon, Bishop of Evora, caused to be built in this place, in the year 1403, a church and a monastery, which was given to the monks by St. Jersom. (Vasconcellius Descripto regni Lusitaniae, c. 7 § 5.)"]
15. Our Lady of Molanus. ["In the year 1099, the Turks were defeated by Godfrey de Bouillon, who on this day took Jerusalem, of which he was made king; and formerly the feast of this event was celebrated annually with a double office and octave. (Molanus, at this day.)"]
16. Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Feast of the Brown Scapular a/k/a The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. History. ["tradition says that Our Lady gave it, herself, about the year 1251, to the Blessed Simon Stock, an Englishman; this devotion has since spread all over the world. This Popes John XXII, Gregory XIII, Sixtus V, Gregory XIV, and Clement VIII, granted indulgences to those belonging to this confraternity. (Cartegene, de Ortu ordinis Carmelitarum.)"]
17. Humility of Mary. Religious order. In America.
Madonna della Campitelli. Italy. 524.
["In the year 1565, Pius V approved of the reform of the barefooted Carmelites, instituted by St. Theresa, at Avila, in Spain."]
18. Our Lady of Victory. Toledo, Spain. ["so called from a signal victory which was gained over the Moors, by Alphonsus IX, King of Castile, in the year 1202, after having a flag carried, on which was the picture of Our Lady. (Report of King Alphonsus to Innocent III.)"]
19. Notre Dame de Moyen-Pont. Near Peronne, France. ["The image was found by a shepherd, near the ponds, where the meadows of Amele are at present; a church was built there, which was repaired in 1612. (Triple Couronne n. 53.)"]
20. Notre Dame de Grace. Picpus, Faubourg St. Antoine, Paris. 1629. Explanation of the icon (in French). Neighborhood in Montreal. ["This image, which is in a small ship of wood with two angels at the end, was made in 1629, from a splinter taken from the famous image of Our Lady of Boulogne-sur-Mer. (Triple Couronne, n. 47.)"]
21. Notre Dame de Verdun. Lorraine, France. 5th century. Cathedral. Music from the cathedral's grand organ. French website. Architectural history, in French. ["celebrated for numerous miracles. St. Polichraine, fifth Bishop of Verdun, dedicated this church on his return from the council of Chalcedon. (Archives of the Church of Verdun.)"]
22. Notre Dame de le Garde. Our Lady of Safety/Safe Hiding. Marseilles, France; Overloon, Netherlands. ["The Queen of Heaven is much honored in this [French] church, where every Saturday the Blessed Sacrament is exposed from midnight till noon. There are seen more than thirty large silver lamps, which a quantity of branches of coral, of extraordinary size. (Chronicon Massilliense.)"]
23. Order of Our Lady of Prémontré is instituted. Lancaster, England. 1120. Following a revelation by Mary to St. Norbert. History and modern status of the Premonstratensians (a/k/a the Norbertines.) More history. Home page for the Order.
24. Notre Dame de Cambron. Near Mons, Hailault, France. Church built in the 17th century. A venerated miraculous picture of the Virgin is in a nearby abbey. For print research, see Th. LeJuene, "La vierge miraculeuse de Cambron" (The miraculous virgin of Cambron) a 30 page article in volume 7 of the Annales du Cercle Archéologique de Mons (Annals of the Archaeological Circle of Mons), published in 1867. The book on the subject is Romain Paternotte, Histoire de Notre-Dame de Cambron et de son culte, précédée d'une notice sur l'abbaye (History of Our Lady of Cambron and its worship, preceded by a note on the abbey) (Brussels: Ernult-Doncq, 1913).
25. Notre Dame du Bouchet. "two leagues and half from" Blanc, Berry, France; Quebec. 1920. Photos of items from the French church. In France, "a pilgrimage which attracts a great concourse of pilgrims. The image of the Blessed Virgin is made of wood of an aged oak, where the first image was found. (Ex monumentis hujus loci.)"]
26. Notre Dame de la Foi. Our Lady of Faith. Canchy, near Abbeville, France. ["This image, having been removed from the oak where it is, into a chapel which was built for it, fifty yards off, was miraculously found again in its former place. (Archives of Canchy.)"]
Our Lady of Techwin. Russia.
27. ["In the year 1480, the Knights of Rhodes gained a signal victory over the Turks, by the help of the Blessed Virgin, who appears on the walls of that city, holding a lance in her hand; the enemy, panic-struck, fled in disorder, and lost the greater part of their army. (Bosius, History of the Knights of Rhodes.)"]
28. Our Lady of Foye, at Gravelines. ["This image is very celebrated in the country. (History of Our Lady of Foye, at Gravelines.)"]
29. Nuestra Señora dela Deliverance. Madrid, Spain. See also Dec. 16.
Council of Trent affirms the Immaculate Conception. 1546:
"This same holy Synod doth nevertheless declare, that it is not its intention to include in this decree, where original sin is treated of, the blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, the mother of God; but that the constitutions of Pope Sixtus IV., of happy memory, are to be observed, under the pains contained in the said constitutions, which it renews."
30. Notre Dame de Gris. Our Lady of Gray. Near Besançon, Franche Comté, France. 1602. ["This image made of the oak of Montaigu, was much honored in the country. (Triple Couronne, n. 58.)"]
31. Nossa Senhora/Our Lady of the Slain. Ceiça, Lorban, Portugal. Cistercian monastery, Chapel. ["It is said that this image was brought from heaven to the Abbot John, uncle of King Alphonsus, and that is restored to life several persons who had been murdered; that in memory of this miracle they had from that time a red mark on their throats, like that which is seen at present on the throat of the image. (Cistercian Chronicle, book 6, c. 27 & 28.)"]
Saturday after the Fourth Sunday of July: Mother of Mercy. Mother of Mercy Messengers. Essay on the title, by Johann Roten.
Last Saturday in July: Our Lady, Help of those in their last agony.
Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
1. Mary appears separately to St. Raymond (a Dominican), King James of Aragon, and St. Peter Nolasco to urge them to establish an order for redeeming captives. (See Aug. 10 for foundation of the order.)["Surius, Life of St. Raymond."]
2. Our Lady of the Angels or Portiuncula. Six hundred yards from Assisi, Italy; Cartago, Costa Rica. 13th century. Convent founds by St. Francis as the Mother house of his order. ["Franciscan Chronicle, part 1, book 2, c. 1."]
3. Our Lady of Bows, London. ["It is related that this image, having been carried away by a storm, together with more than six hundred houses, in the year 1071, it fell uninjured with such violence, that it broke into the pavement, sunk more than twenty feet into the earth, whence it was never possible to draw it out. (Willel. Malmesbury, book4, in Willel., 2.)"]
4. Our Lady of Dordrecht. Holland, Netherlands. Shrine built by St. Sautere ["on the spot designated by an angel, as it is said, who was sent by the Blessed Virgin; she received afterward, the crown of martyrdom in this church. To render her memory more celebrated, God caused a fountain to flow, after her death, which cured fevers. (Molanus on the Belgian Saints.)"]
5. Our Lady of the Snow. Commemorates the dedication of the Church of St. Mary Major. Rome. 352. Repository of Jesus' crib. The church ["was built by John, a patrician, and his wife, on the very place where they found covered with snow, on the 5th of August in the year 367, and and rebuilt by Sixtus II, about the year 432 (Baronius, Notes at the year 367.)"]
["Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of Angels, at Rome, by Pope Pius IV, in the year 1561. This church, which anciently formed part of thermae, or baths of Diocletian, was erected as a titular church of a cardinal, favored with many indulgences, and given by the same pope to the Carthusians. (Balingham on the Calendar.)"]
Our Lady of Protection. Church of the Feullants, Rue St. Honoré, Paris. ["It was so named by Queen Ann of Austria, in the year 1561, in thanksgiving for the favors which she had received from the Queen of heaven. (Du Brueil, Antiquités, book 3.)"]
Mary gives Blessed Alberic the white habit, 1109. The habit became the clothing for Cistercian monks, and they commemorate the day with the title "Descent of The Blessed Virgin Mary at Citeaux, and the Miraculous Change of the Black Habits for White Ones, while Alberic was Abbot."
6. Church of Our Lady of Chartres is burnt but Mary's tunic is miraculously preserved. [(Sebastien Rouillard, Parthén, c. 7.)"] See also July 13, Aug. 17, Oct. 17, Dec. 22, Dec. 31.
7. Our Lady of Schiedam. Holland, Netherlands. 15th century. ["The chronicle related that a merchant, who had stolen this image, having embarked with the intention of selling it at a fair at Antwerp, could never get away from the port. Alarmed at this prodigy, he restored the image which he had taken away, it was solemnly translated to the church of St. John the Baptist, where St. Ludwina used to pass whole nights in prayer. (John Bruchman, Minorita.)"]
8. Our Lady of Kuehn/La Kuen. Near Brussels, Belgium. ["This church was built by order of Our Lady, who said to have marked out its dimensions with line which is still shown. (Additions to Molanus.)"]
9. Our Lady of Oegnies. Brabant, Netherlands. ["the birthplace of Mary of Oegnies, who visited this holy image once a year, barefoot, during the severe rigors of winter. (James de Vitraco, on her Life.)"]
10. Order of Our Lady of Mercy is instituted. Barcelona, Spain. 1218. ["(Surius, Life of St. Raymond.)"] Created by St. Peter Nolasco to ransom Christian captives/slaves from Barbary Coast Moors. A military order of the Kingdom of Aragon.
11. Our Lady of the Way/Madonna della Strada . Original icon. Icon in its church home. As a type of the icon of the Hodegetria. Painting. Another painting. Painting at University of Scranton. Homily. Electronic greeting card. Matruska doll. Monastery in Crete. Association of Our Lady of the Way (Unio Beate Mariae Virginis a Strata; Unserer Lieben Frau vom Wege Gemeinschaft). And St. Ignatius. Originally a Jesuit devotion. See also Dec. 18.
["In the year 810, the Emperor Nicephorus and the Empress Irene sent to Charlemagne two of the Blessed Virgin's robes; he deposited them in this church at Aix-la-Chapelle, from which Charles the Bald took one, which he presented to the Cathedral of Chartres. (Locrius Anaceph. p. 3.)"]
12. Notre Dame de Rouen. Normandy, France. ["erected by Robert, Duke of Normandy. Richard I, king of England, gave great gifts to this church, and the kings of France have granted it great privileges. (Merula, Cosmographia, part 2, book 3, c. 30.)"]
La Conquistadora. Marian statue (now, the oldest Madonna in the United States) miraculously rescued from Indian attack and arson of a church in Sante Fe, New Mexico. 1680. Twentieth-century history of the statue's kidnapping, travels and adventures.
13. Our Lady of the Passion. Moscow, Russia.
Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners.
Dormition of Mary. "Falling asleep" before the Assumption.
14. Vigil of the Assumption (fast). ["of which mention is made by Nicolas I, who was pope in the year 858. It is recorded that on this day angels were heard, near the city of Soissons, singing their anthem, 'Felix namque es, sacre Virgo Maria, et omni laude dignissima, quia ex te ortus est Sol justitiae, Christus Deus noster.' (Thomas, Concep. book 2, part 7.)"]
15. Assumption of Mary. Formally instituted by Pope Leo IV in 847. ("Repose" on the Orthodox calendar.) ["instituted, according to St. Bernard, in the very time of the apostles. (St. Bernard, Ep. 174.)"]
Our Lady of the Kings. Granada, Spain.
Mary and Joseph appear to St. Teresa of Ávila.
Our Lady of Acheropita/Ferragosto. São Paulo; Brazil; Rossano, Italy. 1140.
The Cathedral of Rossano is home of the Byzantine-style fresco "Madonna acheropita" ("Madonna not made by hands" or "non dipinta da mano umana") Feast. Sofferetti News: "Mary who speaks and wants immediately to stamp her beauty of love on each one of us in order to make everyone of us, not only an Acheropita in a drawing, but the True Achiropita radiant with Love for God and for all humanity. This she wants and this she comes to do with us: to make us into her image, her icon, her Living Achiropita." The word "Acheropita" (variant: "Achiropita"; dimunitive: "Achi") is of Greek origin, reflecting the Byzantine Empire's control of Rossano during much of the first millennium A.D.
16. Madonna della Trapani. Sicily, Italy.
["On this day the sepulchre of Our Lady was opened, and in proof that the Blessed Virgin was already assumed into heaven, nothing was found but her winding-sheet, which gave a delicious perfume. (Saussey, Martyrlogium Gallicum, die Assumptionia.)"]
17. Philip the Fair, King of France, wins a battle over the Flemings after asking the aid of Our Lady of Chartres. 1304. ["Out of gratitude for this favor, he gave to it in perpetuity the land and lordship of Barres, founded a daily mass for ever, and left to this church all the accoutrements which wore on that day of victory. This feat is kept in the Church of Notre Dame, at Paris, on the following day, the 18th, and the office is double. (Sebatiaen Rouillard, c. 6.)"] Not be construed as a personal endorsement of this greedy king who persecuted the Knights Templar to confiscate their wealth. July 13, Aug. 6, Aug. 17, Dec. 22, Dec. 31.
18. Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven.
Nuestra Señora de Torcaroma. Columbia.
["In the year 1022, King Robert founded a chapel in honor of Our Lady in the court of palace, at Paris, on the spot where the Sainte Chapell now stands. (Du Breuil, Antiquités de Paris.)"]
19. Our Lady of the Don. Russia. 1380.
Nossa Senhora/Our Lady of Jerusalem. Near Montecarvo, Portugal. ["A chapel is there seen built in imitation of the one at Jerusalem; it is said that the Blessed Virgin herself gave the plan. (Vasconcellius, in Descriptione regni Lusitaniae.)"]
20. Commemoration of St. Bernard's "Ave Maria." Brabant, Netherlands. ["In the celebrated church of the Benedictines of Affighem, in Brabant, is seen an image of the Blessed Virgina, of which it has been received by tradition that St. Bernard, saluting it in these terms, 'Salve, Maria," it answered him, 'Salve Bernarde." (Justus Lipsius, t. 2, c., section 4.)"]
21. Our Lady of Knock. Ireland. 1879. Ireland's most famous apparition.
["In the year 1022 was instituted the order of the thirty knights of Our Lady of the Star, at Paris, by King Robert, who said that the Blessed Virgin was the Star of his kingdom. (A. Favin, Historire de Navarre.)"]
22. Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Background. Ad Caeli Reginam, Encyclical on Proclaiming the Queenship of Mary, Pope Pius XII, October 11, 1954.
Octave of the Assumption. Instituted by Pope Leo IV, in 847.
Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Seven Joys of Our Lady. Celebrated by the Franciscans.
23. Our Lady of Victory. 1328. Mary helps Philip de Valois defeat the Flemings, who had surrounded his forces near Mount Cassel. ["Out of gratitude for this favor, when he made his entry into Paris, he went straight to Notre Dame, and going into the church on horseback, he proceeded the whole length of the nave up the crucifix, and there laid down his arms. The picture of this monarch on horseback was for a long time to be seen in that church, to which he gave a revenue of 100 livres, to be levied on his domain of Gátinais. (Triple Couronne, trait. 4, c. 7, n. 7.)"]
24. Notre Dame de Benoiste-Vaux, "nearly a league from Verdun," Lorraine, France. ["This chapel preserves an image of the Blessed Virgin, rendered famous by miracles; in this place is found a miraculous fountain, the water of which cures several maladies. (Histoire de Notre Dame de Benoiste Vaux, ch. 1 and 9.)"]
25. Madonna della Mt. Berico. Near Vicenza, Italy.
Madonna della Rossano. Calabria, Italy. ["It is said that the Saracens, seeking to surprise the town of Rossano, where they had already planted ladders, were repulsed by Our Lady, who appeared attired in purple, and holding in her hand a lighted torch; this so terrified them that they took to flight. (Gabriel de Barry.)"]
26. Our Lady of Arbour/ Notre Dame de la Treille. Douai/Douay, France. ["It is related that when some children were playing disrespectfully, it with the hand a sign of disapproval. This miracle [induced the] habitants of Douay to build a chapel for it, in the year 1543. (Buzelin, in Annal. Gallo-Flandr.)"]
27. Notre Dame de Moustier. "eight or ten leagues from" Sisteron, France, "in the direction of Marseilles." ["An ancient tradition records that a lord of the country captured by the Turks, made a vow to build a chapel in honor of the Blessed Virgin, if she were pleased to deliver him. The Blessed Virgin heard his prayer; an angel took him on his wings, and carried him back to his country. The nobleman erected a magnificent chapel to the Blessed Virgin, where numerous miracles are wrought. (Manuscript Account.)"]
Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
28. Our Lady of Kiev. Ukraine. ["where this is a large image in alabaster, which spoke to St. Hyacinth, in the year 1241, and told him not to abandon it to the enemy who was besieging the city, but to carry it off with him, which he did without any difficult, the image having lost its weight. (Life of St. Hyacinth.)"]
29. Our Lady of Clermont. "ten leagues from" Cracovia/Cracow. Poland. ["where there is a picture painted by St. Luke, and sent to the Empress St. Pulcheria; that princess placed it in the church of Our Lady of the Guides, at Constantinople, from which it was taken by Leo, Duke of Russia; the Duke of Opolia wanted to remove it to his duchy, in the year 1380; but when he had got to the mountain of Clermont, it became so heavy that it was impossible to carry it farther; and seeing by this miracle that the Blessed Virgin had chosen that mountain for her abode, they built a church there. (Bzovius, ad ann. 1383.)"]
Madonna della Guardia. Livellato, Italy. 1940, apparition. Brief description.
30. Notre Dame de la Délivrance. Martinique. Basilica in Senegal.
Nossa Senhora/Our Lady of Carquera/Carquere. "on the river Douro," Portugal.
Egas de Monis, tutor of King Alphonsus I, carried the young prince into this
ancient church of the Blessed Virgin, that his legs might be straightened
through her intercession; which perfectly succeeded. (Vasconcellius in Regib.
Lusit. Anacephal. 1 and 2.)"]
31. Our Lady of the Founders. Constantinople. ["The Empress St. Pulcheria erected this church, and gave it the girdle of Our Lady. A feast of this relic is kept at Constantinople, under the title the Deposition of Our Lady's girdle. The French having taken this city, this precious treasure was carried off by Nivellon, Bishop of Soissons, and placed in the celebrated abbey of our Lady, with a portion of the veil of that Queen of heaven. (Nicephorus, book 4, c. 8.)"]
During the reign of Emperor Arkadios, this relic was found in a household in Jerusalem, and brought to Constantinople, where it was placed in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in place called the Chalkepratois. The Zone is associated with several miracles, including curing an incurable fatal disease from which Empress Zoe, the wife of Emperor Leo, was dying in 486. Later, Empress Pulcheria had gold threads sewn into the Zone. In 1101, the Zone was moved for safe-keeping to to the Monastery of Vatepedi on Mount Athos. (Source: George Poulos, Orthodox Saints, vol. 3).
Saturday after the Assumption: Notre Dame de la Garde. Marseilles, France.
Notre Dame de
Grace. Cambrai, France.
Sunday before August 22: Holy Heart of Mary
Sunday after August. Our Lady of Antwerp. Belgium.
Last Sunday of August: Our Lady of Constantinople. Isle of Ischia, Italy.
Saturday before the last Sunday of August: Our Lady, Health of the Sick
Saturday after August 28: Our Lady, Comforter of the Afflicted/Mary of
Consolation/Our Lady
of Consolation. Celebrated by the Augustinians.
Friday/Sunday nearest August 29. Festas da Senhora da Agonia (Feast of Our Lady of Suffering). Also called the Viana Festa. A major festival in Portugal. In Viana do Castelo, Portugal,
it is a joyous celebration where the Virgin is carried over carpets of flowers laid out in intricate designs in a procession from her chapel to the docks. Floats bearing the region's produce are paraded. Another procession is made up of girls wearing national costume and the kilos of gold jewelry in which their families invest their savings. The Bishop leads a procession of fishermen down to the sea for the blessing of the fishing fleet. The festivities continue for three days and nights, culminating with the city's only bullfight and a display of fireworks exploding into coloured patterns over the river and town.
Last Wednesday in August: Our Lady of Czestochowa. Poland. Very detailed history of the Virgin rescuing Czestochowa from invaders in the mid-17th century. Black madonna.
1. Our Lady del Puche. Valencia, Spain.
Our Lady of the Girdle. Tortoso, Spain.
Our Lady of Remedios Near Mexico City.
Our Lady of Solitude. Mexico City.
2. Our Lady of Helbron/Nettles. Franconia, Germany. ["This image began to work miracles in the year 1441. (Triple Courone, n. 73)."]
3. Mother of the Divine Shepherd. France.
["Dedication of the Abbey of Corneville, in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, in the year 1147, by Hugo, Archbishop of Rouen. (Gallia Christiana, t. 4)."]
4. ["In the year 1418, Our Lady of Haut, in Hainault, restored to life a young woman, named Jane Maillard, who was drawing water from a very deep well, when the stonework at the top giving way, she fell to the bottom. She was taken out quite dead; but her mother having offered her by vow to Our Lady of Haut, she immediately showed signs of life. (Justus Lipsius, Our Lady of Hal, 19)."]
5. Our Lady of Smolensk. Russia.
["Our Lady of Bois, near Arras. A knight, who attempted to turn this chapel into a stable, in the year 1478, was killed on the spot by his horse. (Triple Couronne, n. 62)."]
6. Our Lady of Guadalupe. Spain.
Our Lady of the Fountain. "half a league from" Valenciennes, France. ["Tradition related that the Blessed Virgin appeared in this place to a hermit, when the plague ravaged the town, and commanded him to tell the inhabitants to fast on the following day, and pass the night in prayer. Having done this, they saw her descend from heaven, and gird the town all around with a cord. The cord is still preserved at Valenciennes. (Narrative of the Affair)."]
7. Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lady. Instituted by Pope Gregory II. 722.
Our Lady of Zyrowice. Poland.
Madonna della Consolata. Turin, Italy.
8. Nativity of Mary. Feast of the Birth of Blessed Virgin Mary. 15 B.C. Instituted in the year 436.
Nuestra Señora de Filermo. Malta. Celebrates the lifting of the Turkish siege in 1565.
["Dedication of the church of Our Lady of Liesse, in the diocese of Laon, then leagues from Rheims)."] France.
["Dedication of Our Lady of Monterrat, in Catalonia)."]
Our Lady of Good Health. Vailankannia, India. (Celebrated in other locations on Dec. 8.)
Basilica in India, and story of 16th century apparition there. Known as the “Lourdes of the East." Shrine. This shrine also attracts Hindus, especially during the annual nine-day festival. Celebrated in Kuwait. Marian Institute. Known as "Our Lady's Tank". Pope John Paul II: "Vailankanny attracts not only Christian pilgrims but also many followers of other religions, especially Hindus, who see in Our Lady of Good Health the caring and compassionate Mother of suffering humanity. In a land of such ancient and deep religiosity like India, this Shrine dedicated to the Mother of God is truly a meeting-point for members of different religions, and an outstanding example of inter-religious harmony and exchange." Historical origins in Dutch persecution. Feast customs. At the National Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Washington.
9. Our Lady of the Puy/Le Puy. Velay, France. ["St. George, who was its first bishop, had marked out the site of this church, which as not built till about the year 221. The Blessed Virgin herself, gave the charge of it to St. Evodius, or Vosi, the seventh bishop of the same place, whom she ordered to transfer his episcopal see to Puy. St. Evodius obeyed the Blessed Virgin, but when he wished to consecrate his new church, it was made known to him that the dedication of it had been performed by angels; the doors opened of themselves, the bells run of themselves, the candles were found lighted, and the holy Chrism, which the angels had used, appeared quite fresh upon the altar and the walls. (Odo Gisseus, de Virg, Aniciens., book 2, c. 7, 8 and 9)."]
Joachim and Anna, the parents of Mary (Orthodox).
10. Our Lady of Trut. near Cologne, Germany. ["This church was built under Otho I, by St. Heribert, Archbishop of Cologne, on the very spot where idols had formerly been worshiped)."]
11. Our Lady of Hildesheim. Brunswick, Germany. 11th century. ["An image is there venerated, which Louis the Meek always work about him. One day, when he had forgotten it in a wood, it became so heavy that it was impossible to remove it, which made the king resolve to build a church there. (Triple Couronne, n. 75)."]
12. Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary. St. Alphonsus de Liguori essay. Long essay from Catholic Family News. History:
The feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary began in Spain in 1513 and in 1671 was extended to all of Spain and the Kingdom of Naples. In 1683, John Sobieski, king of Poland, brought an army to the outskirts of Vienna to stop the advance of Muslim armies loyal to Mohammed IV in Constantinople. After Sobieski entrusted himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he and his soldiers thoroughly defeated the Muslims. Pope Innocent XI extended this feast to the entire Church.
Our Lady of Healing. Lower Normandy, France. ["Miraculous cures are wrought, in great numbers, in this church. (Archives of the Church)."]
13. Maria Zell/Our Lady of Zell. Austria.
Our Lady of Guadalupe/Guadelupa/Guadaloupe. Spain. ["This image, which Pope Gregory sent to St. Leander, Bishop of Seville, was concealed, on the invasion of the Moors, with the body of St. Fulgentius, in the cave of Guadaloupe, where it remained nearly six hundred years, till Our Lady revealed it to a shepherd. (Mariana, History of Spain.)."]
Our Lady of Siluva. Lithuania. 1608. Lithuanian site. English.
14. Our Lady of Fontevrault. Pouitou, France. 1129. By Pope Calixtus II.
Our Lady of Einsiedeln. Switzerland.
15. Our Lady of Sorrows. The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Essay. Article and prayers.
Our Lady of Aranzazir/de las Augustias. Granada, Spain
Octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. ["instituted on occasion of some disputes, which arose on the election of a successor to Celestin IV, by the intrigues of the Emperor Frederick II, which caused the cardinals to have recourse to Our Lady, obliging themselves, by vow, to add an octave to her Nativity, when she should have given them a pope. Innocent IV, having been elected, he instituted this octave in the year 1243, the first of his pontificate. (Arnoldus Wionius, book 5, Ligni vitae, c. 22)."]
16. Our Lady of Good News/Good Tidings. Orleans, France. Also, Sicily, Italy. (See also Nov. 19, Dec. 12). ["built by King Robert, in the year 996, on the very spot where he learnt the good news that his father, Hugo, had escaped death. (Locrius, Mariae Augustae, book 4, c. 62)."]
Our Lady of the Rocks. Pasto, Columbia.
Our Lady of Help. Socorro, Columbia.
17. Our Lady of the Candles. 15th century.
Inauguration of the image of Our Lady of Puy. Velay, France. King St. Louis IX ["gave this image to the church of Puy, in the year 1254, on his return from beyond the seas)."]
18. Our Lady of Smelcem. Flanders, Belgium. ["The chronicle relates that some shepherds observed that their sheep bent their knees before this image. This occasioned Baldwin, surnamed Fair Bear, to choose this place to building a church in thanksgiving for having been cured by our Saviour of a malady which he had had for seventeen years. (Triple Couronne, n. 63)."]
19. Notre Dame de La Salette. France. 1846. Apparition.
Our Lady of Healing. Mt. Leon, Gascony, France. ["Geoffroy, Histoire de la Vierge de Guerison)."]
20. Our Lady of the Silver Foot. Toul, Lorraine, France. ["where an image is seen, which according to an ancient tradition, informed a woman, in the year 1284, of an act of treachery which was planned against the city, and as a sign of it, the image put out its foot, which was found changed into silver. (Triple Couronne, n. 57)."]
21. Our Lady of Pucha. Valencia, Spain. ["This image was found in the year 1223, by means of seven stars which were seen shining on this spot, which made people dig into the earth, where they found an image of the Blessed Virgin. (Bernard Comes, Historia Hispan., book 10)."]
22. ["The giving of the name of Mary to Our Lady, by St. Anne, her mother. (Petrus a Castro, Hist. Virg. c. 2)."]
23. Our Lady of Valvanere. Spain. ["This image was found in an oak, on the very spot where is now seen the magnificent church which Alphonsus IV, King of Castile, rebuilt. (Antonius Yepez, Chronicles)."]
24. Our Lady of Mercy/Ransom/Nuestra Señora de Merced.
The Order of Our Lady of Ransom (the Mercedarians) was founded in Spain in 1218 by St. Peter Nolasco. Created to redeem slaves and other captives, the Order was originally a Military Order, containing men who were both Knights and Monks. It also included non-knightly ordinary clerics. St. Peter Nolasco had fought on the side of Simon de Montfort, the great English baron who fought for the liberty of people of all classes, against some of the worst Plantagenet Kings of England/France. In the Order, which was approved by Pope Honorius III, Nolasco was given the rank of Commander-General. The groups eventually split due to internal dissensions, with the largest body of knights joining the military Order of Montesa in 1317. Several members sailed with Christopher Columbus, and the Order played a very active role in the evangelization of the New World. Monks and Nuns of the Order remain active in Europe and the Americas today.
Notre Dame de Roc-Amadour/Roquemadour/Rock of Amateur. Cahors, Quercy, France. ["This place of pilgrimage is so named because St. Amateur, vulgarly called St. Amant, lived for some time upon this rock, which began be famous about the year 1140. (Hugo Farcitus, de Miracul. B. Virg. Rupiramat)."]
25. Our Lady of Passer. Rhodes, Greece. ["This image having been often removed from the place where it was, to another place, was always found again at its old post, which made it necessary to build a church there. (Triple Couronne, n. 53)."]
Madonna, Divine Shepherdess. Spain. 1703
26. Our Lady of Victory. Tournay/Tourney, France. ["The inhabitants carried the keys of the city into the church of Our Lady, in the year 1340, because they knew that the Queen of heaven alone was able to deliver them from the English, who had besieged them for forty days; they had no sooner testified this confidence in the Blessed Virgin, than the siege was raised, when the inhabitants had hardly provisions left for three days. (Archives of Tournay)."]
27. Our Lady-of Happy Meeting/Assembly/Good-meeting. ["half a league from Agde. This image, made of baked clay, was discovered miraculously, in the year 1523. (Triple Couronne, n. 34)."]
28. ["Our Lady of Cambron, of the order of Citeaux, in Hainault, near Mons. It is said that this image, being struck by a wicked man, in the year 1322, bled copiously. (Histoire Camberon., Duaci. ann. 1602)."]
29. Apparition of the Madonna di Tirano to blessed Mario Omodei. Italy, 1504. Site of a basilica built the next year.
["Our Lady of Tongres, in the diocese of Cambray. This image, in the year 1081, was taken into a garden, where the Bishop of Cambray erected a church. (Triple Couronne, n. 1602)."]
30. Notre Dame de Beaumont. Beaumont is a town in Auvergne, Lorraine, France. History: Built approximately 1060, the site of many pilgrimages and miracles. Gothic church. Pictures and story of the ancient chapel. Church contains a painting of Joan of Arc made during her lifetime. Notre Dame de Beaumont in the life of Saint Hervé. In the life of the Curé of Ars (same story in Norwegian). ["Joan of Arc very often retired into this church, to commend the affairs of France to the Queen of heaven and earth, who ordered her to take up arms to deliver that kingdom. (Triple Couronne, traité 3, ch. 7.)"]
First Sunday. Collection of the all Feasts of Our Lady. St. Peter's Church, Louvain, Belgium. ["(Molanus, ad Usuard, Martyrolog.)"]
Second Sunday. Our Lady of Constantinople. As celebrated by the Italian community in Pennsylvania.
Third Thursday. Our Lady of Consolation, Malta. See also June 20.
Thursday after the Nativity of Mary: The Amiable Mother of Starkenburg (Missouri, U.S.)
Month of the Rosary
1. Our Lady, Queen and Protectress of Nigeria.
Holy Protection of the Mother of God. History of this feast in the Byzantine Catholic Church. Orthodox liturgy. In 911 A.D., when Constantinople was besieged, St. Andrew of Constantinople saw Mary, John the Baptist, and John the Theologian enter a church in Constantinople. "She spread her cloak over the congregation as a symbol of protection, and the city was spared." (Chronicles magazine, December 2006, "About the cover.")
["Foundation of the Abbey de la Couronne, of the order of St. Augustin, in the diocese of Angoulême, under the title of Our Lady, by Lambert, who was its first abbot, in the year 1122. (Gallia Christiana, t. 4.)"]
2. Our Lady of the Assumption (a/k/a Vergine Assunta). Painting by Carlo Maratta. Statue.
Chapel in the abbey of Montecassino. Basilica in Trieste. Cathedral in Tlaxcala, "the mushroom capital of Mexico." Featured on the Acadian flag. Coat of Arms of the state of Aguascalientes, Mexico. Patroness of confraternity of prayer for reunification of the Catholic and eastern churches; of the Acadian/Cajun people; of the Church in Tobago; of Óbidos, Portugal. Prayer to. Devotion of Italian immigrants in Perth, Australia. Namesake of Asunción, Paraguay (full name, "Nuestra Señora de la Asunción"), and of numerous churches and schools, and the Assumptionist religious order. (Note: The Assumption itself is celebrated on August 15.) ["at Naples, built by the canonesses regular of St. Augustine, out of gratitude for the favor which the Mother of God did them, by warning them to leave a house which fell down as soon as they were gone out of it. (Triple Couronne, n. 42.)"]
3. Our Lady of La Place. Rome. ["This image having fallen into a well at the house of Cardinale Copocius, in the year 1250, the water swelled up miraculously, and cast out the image, which the cardinal placed in his chapel. But Pope Innocent IV, obliged him to build another on the very spot where the miracle had occurred. This chapel having been given to the Servites, they have erected a fine church, in which the well is enclosed. (Triple Couronne, n. 100.)"]
4. ["Our Lady of Vassivieres, on the mountains of Auvergne, near Mont d'Or, where there is an image which has remained miraculously from the ruins of Vaussivieres, which was destroyed by the English about the year 1374. This image having been transferred to the Church of Besse, was found again in its former place. (Duchene, c. 9.)"]
5. ["Our Lady of Buch, in the Pine Mountains, in Guienne. The sea cast this image upon the sands, while St. Thomas, of the order of St. Francis, was praying in behalf of two vessels which he saw in danger of perishing. He respectfully received this image and deposited it in this place, in a small chapel which he built there. (Florimond Raymon, Histoire des Heresies, book 1.)"]
["Saint Mary's of Jersey, consecrated in the year 1320, in the English Channel. (Chartrier de Coutances, called Le Livre Noir.)"]
6. Our Lady of All Help. 1640.
Madonna della Plebe. Venice, Italy. Built in 1480.
7. Our Lady of Victory/Our Lady of the Rosary. Feast of the Most Holy Rosary.
On October 7, 1571, Western Christian navies, under Admiral Don John of Austria, wiped out a huge Ottoman naval invasion force in the Battle of Lepanto, near Greece. The Christian forces were carrying a replica of the Guadalupe painting, and praying the Rosary. Thousands of Christian galley slaves were freed from the Turks. The battle was one of the most important in the West's struggle to resist Islamic imperialism, and was the first major Turkish naval defeat. Volunteers from all over the West had joined to together to repel a catastrophic threat of invasion. Pope Pius declared October 7 as the feast day of Our Lady of Victory. In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the title to "Our Lady of the Rosary" authorizing the celebration in churches with an altar dedicated to the Rosary. The feast was extended to all of Spain in 1671 by Pope Clement X. On August 6, 1716, Prince Eugene of Savoy defeated a much larger invading Ottoman army at Peterwardein, Hungary. The victory set the stage for the reconquest of Hungary from the Turks. In gratitude, Pope Clement XI ordered that the Feast of the Rosary be celebrated world-wide. Popes Benedict XIII and Leo XIII further elevated the feast, making a "double of the second class."
"Remember Lepanto!"--wonderful article by Robert McMullen.
8. Our Lady of Gifts. Avignon, France. St. Louis de Montfort: "If someone wishes to be faithful, / Let him come to the Mother of gifts." ["The tradition which attributes the foundation of this church to St. Martha, reports that it was consecrated by our Lord himself. Afterwards, having been demolished by the Saracens, it was repaired by the Emperor Charlemagne. (Triple Couronne, n. 40.)"]
Our Lady of Begona. Navarra, Spain. Painting. Brought to the New World. Celebrated in Almaciga, in Tenerife, Canary Islands, on April 27.
Our Lady of Good Remedy. In 1198, St. John of Matha (Feb. 8) created the Trinitarian order.
The Trinitarians' mission was to purchase Christian slaves in Moorish slave markets, and set them free. The group honors Mary as their patroness, and freed as many as 140,000 slaves for the next seven centuries. Paintings. Chapel in St. Michel de Frigolet, France. Roman shrine in honor of liberation from the Nazis in 1944. Origin of the White Scapular. A special icon for Filipinos. Trinitarian women in Ohio. Prison ministers in Madagascar. Papal address to Trinitarians, July 15, 2001.
9. St. John Damasceene's severed hand restored by Mary (723 a.d.).
The hand had been cut off as the result of a plot by the iconoclastic Byzantine Emperor Leo the Isaurian. Because John resisted the Emperor's iconoclasm, the Emperor forged a letter, purportedly from John to the Emperor, offering to betray the Muslim-controlled city of Damascus to the Byzantine Emperor. The Emperor then delivered the forged letter to Muslim Caliph Abdul-Malek. The Caliph ordered John's hand removed as punishment for the "crime" of attempting to betray Damascus to the Christians.
For an argument that the affair is legendary. Large collection of writings by and about, and icons of, St. John Damascene.
Our Lady of Ephesus. Moscow, Russia.
10. Our Lady of the Cloister. Besançon, Citeaux, France. ["The image of Our Lady, placed in the Cloister of La Madeleine, was preserved from a fire, in the year 1624, though the niche where it stood was reduced to ashes. (Triple Couronne, n. 58.)"]
11. Feast of the Divine Maternity of Our Lady.
Our Lady, Mother of the Savior. Salvatorians.
Our Lady the White. Ouville, Caux, France. ["This image is much venerated in the country. (Archives of the Monastery.)"]
Maternity of Mary. Paintings and artist's discussion.
12. Our Lady of the Pillar. Notre Dame dal Pilla. Saragossa, Spain. 36. Church and cathedral with miraculous image of Mary. Catholic scholars disagree about the authenticity of the tradition that shrine here was originally built by St. James the Apostle after she appeared to him when he was praying by the Ebro River. This appearance was said to have taken place while Mary was still living in Israel; the phenomena is called "bilocation" (being in two places at once).
Nuestra Señora de Zapopan. Mexico. 1541.
Our Lady of Faith. Liege, Belgium. ["This image was found by a carpenter named Gilles de Wanlin, in the year 1609, who, as he was cutting down an oak, with the intention of making a boat, found in it, enclosed in an iron grating, an image of Our Lady, made of white clay, a foot high, which was placed in another oak, and afterwards in a church which was built on the very place of the oak which had borne this fair fruit. (Triple Couronne, n. 60.)"]
Our Lady of Jerusalem. Moscow, Russia.
13. Notre Dame de Clairvaux. Langres, France. ["St. Bernard was the first abbot of this celebrated monastery, where he died in the year 1153, aged sixtythree years. Alphonsus I., King of Portugal, in the year 1142, bound himself and his successors to pay every year, as the vassal of Our Lady of Clairvaus, fifty gold maravedis. (Cistercian Chronicle.)"]
14. ["Our Lady of La Rochette, near Geneva. A shepherd coming up to a bush, where he heard a plaintive voice, found there an image of the Blessed Virgin, which led to a church being built there. (Astolph, Historia universalis B. Mariae Virginis.)"]
15. Our Lady of Terouenne. Dedication in 1131 ["by Milo its thirteenth bishop. (Jacob Meyerus, book 2, Annal. Flandriae.)"]
16. Madonna della Milan. Dedicated by Pope Martin V in 1417. ["This church was built in 1388 by John Galleas, Duke of Milan. (Philip Bergomensis, book 4, Supl. ann. 1388.)"]
Our Lady of Purity. Theatine Fathers. Painting. In dream sequence in Virginia Woolf book. Picture.
17. Notre Dame de Chartres. Dedication of the Crypt ["by St. Pontianus, in the year 46. Dedication of the Church of Citeaux, in the diocese of Challons, under the title of Our Lady. (Sebastian Rouillard, c. 4, n. 4.)"]. See also July 13, Aug. 6, Aug. 17, Dec. 22, Dec. 31.
18. Notre Dame de Rheims. Built by St. Nicasius, archbishop, in 405. ["The church having fallen to ruins, was rebuilt by Ebo and Hincmar. It was finished in the year 845. (Flodoardus, book 1, c. 6.)"]
19. [Dedication of the Abbey of Royaumont, under the title of the Holy Cross and Our Lady, by John, Archbishop of Mytilene, in the year 1235. The monastery has been founded by St. Louis, in the year 1227. (Gallia Christiana, t. 4.)"]
20. Dedication of the Abbey of Our Lady. Pontigny, four leagues from Auxerre, France. ["founded in 1114 by Thubaud, Count of Champagne (Angl. Manriq.)."]
Immaculate Heart of Mary. Marianist Missal.
21. Notre Dame de Talan. Dijon, France. ["(Ex monumentis Divion.)"]
22. Our Lady of the Underground. Our Lady of the Vault. half a league from Grand Cairo. ["It is held by tradition that the Blessed Virgin lived for some years in this subterranean chapel. (Triple Couronne, n. 9.)"]
23. Our Lady of Consolation. Notre-Dame de Comfort. Honfleur, France. Basilica and National Shrine in Carey, Ohio. Franciscan Friars. ["This chapel is much frequented; two children have been raised to life there, in memory of which their figures are there in silver. (Archives of the place.)"]
24. Our Lady of Hermits. Black Madonna in Einsiedeln, Switzerland. Brief mention in an essay on Black Madonnas. ["where there was formerly a small hermitage in the midst of woods occupied by St. Meinrad, till the Emperor Otho built a church there, in compliance with an order which he received from heaven. This church contains small chapel of Our Lady, which was consecrated, it is said, in the year 1418, by Our Lord, accompanied by angels and saints, who performed the functions of ordinary ministers of the church, in the presence of the Blessed Virgin. (Triple Couronne, n. 84.)"]
25. Our Lady of Toledo. Spain. Pro-life shrine. Dedication ["about the year 1075, by Bernard, archbishop of that city. This cathedral has a revenue of more 300,000 livres. (John Mariana, book 9, c. 18.)"]
26. Notre Dame des Victoires /Victories. Senlis, France. Basilica in Paris. Church in Quebec. Dedication ["in the year 1225, by Guarin, Bishop of Senlis, and Chancellor of France. This abbey was built by Philip Augustus, in thanksgiving for the victory which he gained over the Emperor Otho IV., at Bouvines, in the year 1214. (Carta Tabularis de Victoria.)"]
27. Dedication of the Basilica of Our Lady, Help of Christians. Turin, Italy. 1868. History.
Madonna della Basillia. Lombardy, Italy. ["where there is a church built by the express order of Our Lady. (Albert. Leander, Descriptio Italiae.)"]
28. Notre Dame de Vivonne. Savoy, France. ["where a miraculous image is venerated, which was found by a ploughman. This statute, having been removed three times into the village church, was always found again in its former place, which necessitated the building of a church, which was given to the Carmelites. (Astolphus, in Histor. univers. imag. B. Virg.)"]
Notre Dame des Trilles. Lille, France.
Holy Protection of the Mother of God is celebrated in Greece. On Oct. 1 elsewhere.
29. ["Our Lady of Orope, near Bielle, in Savoy; this image, of cedar wood, six feet high, is in a chapel which St. Eusebius, Bishop of Vercelli, erected about the year 380; he often retired there during the troubles caused by the Arians. (Triple Couronne, n. 112.)"] Sanctuary, Wikipedia (in italiano).
30. Madonna della Mondevi. Vic, Piedmont, Italy. 1540. ["where here is a picture which a tile-maker had painted on a brick pillar, which he had erected for that purpose. This pillar has been enclosed in a church, where the miracles which are wrought attract a great concourse of people. (History of Mondevi, c. 2.)"]
31. Miracle at St. Fort. Chartres, France. [In the year 1116, an altar boy having fallen into the well of St. Fort, which is in the church of Chartres, was saved by Our Lady. All the time that he was in the well, he heard the angels answering the public prayers which were chanted in the church; when the custom arose at Chartres that the choir never answer aloud to the Dominus vobiscum, chanted at high mass and canonical hours. (Sebastien Rouillard, Parthen., c. 6, n. 14.)"]
Movable feasts:
Patronage of Our Lady. Can be in October or November. Wikipedia.
Notre Dame du Cap. First Sunday in October. Cap de Madelaine, Canada. National shrine (English, francais, espanol). History (English, francais).
1. Feast of All Saints. Instituted around 608 by Pope Boniface IV. ["...instituted in honor of Our Lady and all the saints, at Rome, by Pope Boniface IV, about the year 608, and since, in all churches in Christendom, by Pope Gregory IV, about the year 829, at the prayer of Louis le Debonnaire, who a decree for its observance in all his dominions. (Baronious on the Martyrological Romananum.)"]
2. Notre Dame d'Emminont. near Abbeville, France. ["This church is now much visited pilgrims. (Antiq. d'Abbeville, book 1.)"]
3. Notre Dame de Rennes. Brittany, France. Short history of the eponymous church, in French. Pictures. Organ. ["The English having made a mine to blow up the town, it is said that the candles of the chapel were found miraculously lighted; the bells rung of themselves, and the image of the Blessed Virgin was seen to stretch out its arms toward the middle of the church, where the mine was, by that means it was discovered. (Triple Couronne, Trait. 3, chapters 7 and 8.)"] The cited source is R. P. François Poiré (Father, in the Society of Jesus), Triple Couronne de la Bienheureuse Vierge Mère de Dieu tissue de ses principales grandeurs d'Excellence, de Pouvoir et de Bonté et enrichie de diverses inventions pour l'aimer, l'honorer et la servir (Bénédictins de Solesmes, France, 1849)(2d edition, Paris: Julien, Lanier, Cosnard, 1858). The Preface to this book, by Dom Guéranger, is here, in PDF.
4. Madonna della Port-Louis. Milan, Italy. 1847. Cardinal's letter (in Latin) on the 150 anniversary celebration. ["Tradition reports that this image received one day the homage of two angels, whom several persons saw bending the knee before it. (Astolphus, ex Hist. universal. image B. Virgin.)"]
5. Our Lady of Damietta. Egypt. 1220. Religious history of the Egyptian town. Believed by some to be a place where the Holy Family traveled while in Egypt. ["This church was consecrated in honor of the Blessed Virgin, in the year 1220, by Palagius, Apostolic legate. (AEmilius, in Philippo)."]
6. Notre-Dame de Valfleury. "Seven leagues from Lyons," France. A Black Madonna: "early12 C, wood, original found in flowering broom bush at Christmas 800, entire figure completely reconstructed in 1869, statue black in 19 C, now dark natural wood with some traces of polychrome." Another history says that the statue was found about 1000 a.d. Pilgrimages began as early as the 8th century, and gained new vitality after a 1629 plague. Photo of the church. Book: Abbee Berjat, Notre-Dame de Valfleury, l'histoire, le pélerinage, essai d'iconographie mariale (first published 1919; new edition 1931)(Lyon: Audin). Available from French rare book webstores. Magazine article: Louis Bernard, "La restauration de la statue de Notre-Dame de Valfleury, " in Bulletin du Vieux St-Etienne,1969, number 73, pages 14-16. ["This church is so called, because the image of the Blessed Virgin on the high altar was found by shepherds in some broom, which had flowered about the feast of Christmas."], citing François Poiré, Triple Couronne de la Bienheureuse Vierge Mère de Dieu tissue de ses principales grandeurs d'Excellence, de Pouvoir et de Bonté et enrichie de diverses inventions pour l'aimer, l'honorer et la servir (Bénédictins de Solesmes, France, 1849), n. 47.
7. Notre-Dame de l'Étang. (Our Lady of the Pond). Dijon, France. 1531. Poem, Pèlerinage à Notre-Dame-de-l'Étang, by Aloysius Bertrand. ["This image of baked earth was discovered in the year 1531, on occasion of an ox stopping always in this place, and though he grazed there, the grass was always found still more abundant."], citing François Poiré, Triple Couronne de la Bienheureuse Vierge Mère de Dieu tissue de ses principales grandeurs d'Excellence, de Pouvoir et de Bonté et enrichie de diverses inventions pour l'aimer, l'honorer et la servir (Bénédictins de Solesmes, France, 1849), n. 42.
8. Notre-Dame de Belle Fontaine. La Rochelle, France. Abbey. ["This image has been honored from time immemorial." citing "Archives of the Abbey."]
9. La Virgen de Almudena. Madrid, Spain. History, in Spanish.
Notre-Dame de Bon Air. (Our Lady of Good Air)(a/k/a Good-Succor). Perche, near Roumalard, France. Short diary reference to an eponymous church in Belgium. ["This church is much frequented by persons who are in affliction." Triple Couronne, n. 52.]
10. Our Lady of Loretto. Litany of Loretto. According to tradition, a band of angels picked up the house where Mary was born, and brought it to Loreto, Italy. ["In the year 1522, Our Lady of Loretto healed of an incurable malady a Turkish pacha, who was persuaded by one of his slaves, who was a Christian, to have recourse to the Blessed Virgin; this Mohammadan believed him, and promised to give him his liberty, if Our Lady cured him. Having recovered his health, he sent several presents to the church of Our Lady of Loretto, and, among others, his bow and quiver." Tursellini, Hist. Lauret, book 3, chapter 18.]
11. Nossa Senhora do português/ Our Lady of the Portuguese. 1546. Mary appeared to the Portuguese led them to victory in battle. Humorous title of a modern Brazilian linguist. ["On this day, about the year 1546, the Portuguese gained a great victory over the infidels, who had been before the case of Die, in the East Indies, for the space of seven months, and who would have carried it by storm, if Our Lady had not appeared upon the walls; which caused so great terror in the enemy's camp, that the siege was at once raised." Balingham on the Calendar.]
12. Unsere Dame des Aufsatz-Geheimnisse; Nosstra Signora del Segreto della Torretta. (Our Lady of the Tower Secret). Fribourg, Germany; Turin, Italy, 1863. ["...built on the lands of the heretics, on the very spot where an image of Our Lady had been found." Triple Couronne, n. 85.]
13. Notre-Dame de-Nanteuil. Montrichard, France. Miraculous fountain from the 15th century. Pilgrimage site. Photo of church. Another photo. Article: Philippe Gabet, "La légende de Notre-Dame de Nanteuil," BSMF (Bulletin de la Société de Mythologie Française), volume 87, page 96.
Dedication of the Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec (Abbey of Bec) in honor of Mary. Normandy, France. 1077. [Dedication "by Lanfrance, Archbishop of Canterbury. This abbey of Benedictines was founded about the year 1045 by Herluin, who was its first abbot." Gulielmus Gemiticensis, book 6 de ducib. Norman, chapter 9.]
14. Our Lady of the Grotto. Lamego, Portugal. In colonial Brazil. In The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, ch. 21. ["This chapel was cut in the rock, in the same place where an image of the Blessed Virgin has been found." Vasconcellius, in Descripto regni Lusitan.]
Also the name of a 15th-century church in Malta, in which a statue of Mary was recently reported to be weeping red tears; the alleged event was declared false by the Vatican.
15. Our Lady of Pigneralo. ["built in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, about the year 1098, by Adelaide, Countess of Savoy." Archives of the Place.]
16. Our Lady, Health of the Sick. Celebrated by the Camillians.
Our Lady of Chieves, Hainault. ["where in the year 1130, the lady of the place, named Ida, had a chapel built near a fountain where an image of Our Lady had been found, which has since wrought many miracles." Triple Couronne, n. 62.]
17. Institution of the confraternity of Our Lady of Sion (Zion); Notre Dame de Sion. Nancy, Lorraine, France. Queen of the Jews. Encyclopedia entry. History of this women's order, founded in the 1843 century to promote Catholic-Jewish relations. Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, in U.K and Ireland. In Canada and United States. In Australia. Seven-language website of the order. Creators of the Christian Jewish Relation and Encounter. [Instituted "in the year 1393, by Ferri of Lorraine, Count of Vaudémont. Triple Couronne, n. 66.]
18. Nuestra Señora de Chiquinquirá (La Chinita). Venezuela/Columbia. In Spanish.
Our Lady of Boudieux. Bourges. ["This abbey of Benedictines was built in the year 928, by Ebbo, the Lord of Berry." Bzovius, ad ann. 928.]
19. Our Lady of Good News/Our Lady of Glad Tidings. Venice, Italy. (See also Sept. 16, Dec. 12). [...in the Abbey of St. Victor, which was visited every Saturday, by Mary of the Medicis. The abbey was found in 1113 by Louis the Large. (Ex. Archiv. S. Victoria Parisiensis.)"]
20. Madonna della Guardia (a/k/a/ La Gardia). Bologna, Italy. 433. ["This picture was in the Church of Santa Sophia, at Constantinople, with this inscription: 'This picture, painted by St. Luke, must be taken to the mountain of La Gardia, and placed over the altar of the church.' A Greek monk set out for Italy about the year 433, with the picture entrusted to him, and deposited it on the mountain of La Gardia. (Bzovius, ad ann. 1433, n. 379)."]
21. Our Lady of Peace. Rome. Wikipedia.
Presentation of Mary in the Temple. ["This feast was instituted in the Greek Church more than nine hundred years ago, since St. Germanus, who held the see of Constantinople in the year 715, composed a sermon on it. (Baronius, Notes to the Martyrology.)"]
Our Lady of Good Health. Basilica in Venice, Italy built to celebrate end of a plague in 1631/1630.Festa della Madonna della Salute. Photos.
22. Our Lady of LaVang. Vietnam. 1798.
Institution of the Confraternity of the Presentation of Our Lady. ["...at St. Omer's, in the year 1481. (Adalardus Tassart, in Chron., ad ann. 1481.)"]
23. Our Lady of the Vault. Florence, Italy. Name of a church in Brussels, Belgium. ["...near the town of St. Anastasia, in the environs of Florence" Triple Couronne, n. 102.]
24. ["In the year 1535, Our Lady of Monsterrat restored the speech of a Savoyard who had lost it. (History of Monsterrat.)"]
25. Our Lady of the Rock. Fiezoli, Tuscany, Italy. 1028. ["This image is placed in a rock, where two shepherds retired to pray; Our Lady ordered them to build a church in this place. (Archangel. Janius, in Annal. PP. Servitarum.)"]
26. Our Lady of the Mountains. Mt. Esquilin, Italy. 1500. Namesake of many U.S. churches. ["...between the Esquiline and Viminal Hills. The image was miraculously found in the year 1500." Triple Couronne, n. 99.]
27. Our Lady of Novgorod. Russia.
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. 1830.
["Dedication of the town of Lesina, in the campagna of Rome. This town was given to Our Lady in the year 1400, by Margarent, Queen of Poland, and mother of Ladislas. (Bzovius, liv. 9 de Signis Ecclesiae.)"]
28. ["Our Lady of Walsingham, in England, greatly honored by Edward I, who, as he was playing one day at chess, rose up instinctively from his seat, and at the same time a large stone became loose in the roof, and fell upon the chair where he had been sitting. From that time he particularly honored Our Lady of Walsingham. (Thomas Walsingham, History of England under Edward I.)"]
29. Our Lady of the Crown. Palermo, Italy. ["...so called because was there that the kings of Sicily received the royal crown, as holding it from the Mother of God, and unwilling to wear it for any but her. (Thom. Facellus, book 8, prioris decad. de rebus Siculia.)"]
Beauraing apparition. Belgium. 1932.
30. Madonna della Genesta. Genoa, Italy. ["A poor woman, named Petruciccia, undertook to build this church, a task which appeared to every one impossible; she however proceeded to lay the corner stone, and assured every one that she should not die until the Blessed Virgin and St. Augustin finished this work. In fact, this church was found miraculously completed a short time afterwards. (Segninus, in his Chronicles.)"]
MOVABLE FEASTS
Saturday after All Saints Day: Our Lady of Suffrage.
Second Sunday in November: Our Lady of Hope. Novena. Litany. Christian association. Children's home in Jamaica. Apparition on Jan. 17, 1871, in Mayenne, France.
Saturday before the third Sunday in November: Mother of Divine Providence/Our Lady of Providence (Beata Maria Virgo, Divinµ Providentiµ Mater). Patroness of imprisoned, sick, and afflicted, and of Puerto Rico. History.Statue reproduction for sale. Holy card. Another holy card. Homily. Analysis of the preface to the Mass. Prayer. Established by the Barnabites
1. Our Lady of Ratisbon (a/k/a Ratisbonne). Bavaria, Germany. 1842. ["...founded by Duke Theodon, after receiving baptism from St. Rupert, Bishop of Salzburg and apostle of Bavaria, who afterwards consecrated this church. (Canisius, book 5 de Beata Virgine, chapter 25)."]
2. Our Lady of Didinia. Cappadocia, Turkey. ["...before which St. Basil besought the Blessed Virgin to remedy the disorders caused by Julian the Apostate; he was there favored with an apparition which presages the death of the emperor. (Baronius, ad ann. 303.)"]
3. Our Lady of Victories (Victory). Paris, France. 1629.
Our Lady of Filerma. near Malta. ["This image having remained in the midst of the ruins of the Church of St. Mark of Rhodes, was removed into the Church of St. Catharine, and finally, the knights having quitted Rhodes, it was placed in the Church of St. Lawrence, and this having been entirely burnt down, the image remained entire. (Triple Couronne, n. 91)."]
4. Notre-Dame de La Chapelle. Abbeville, France. ["This church was built about the year 1400, on a small hill, where formerly they worshiped idols. (Antiquités d'Abbeville, book 1.)"]
5. In 1584, the establishment of the first Sodality of Our Lady in the Jesuit College at Rome. ["...whence is derived their custom of establishing it in all their homes. (Balingham on the Calendar.)]"
6. Notre-Dame de-Fouvrière. Basilica in Lyons, France. ["...on the mountain, famous for miracles, and for the extraordinary concourse of the people of that great city, particularly on all Saturdays."]
Notre-Dame de-Séez. France.
7. Vigil of the Immaculate Conception. For the United States, World War II began on this Vigil, and ended on the Vigil of the Assumption. Obligation of vigil fast transferred from Assumption Vigil to this date by Pope Pius XII, in 1957.
Our Lady of Paris. Miraculous preservation of a Marian image. 1550. ["On this day, a Sunday, in the year 1550, the canonesses of Our Lady of Paris being procession before the image of the Blessed Virgin, which is near the door of the choir, a heretic from Lorraine, breaking through the crowd, sword in hand, sought to strike that image, but he was prevented by those present, and on the Thursday following, he was executed before the porch of Our Lady. (De Breuil, Antiquités de Paris, book 1.)"]
8. Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Instituted by Pope Sixtus IV in 1477. Extended to the whole Roman Catholic Church in 1708 by Pope Clement XI. ["This festival began in the East, more than nine hundred years ago, since mention is made of it by St. John Damascene, who lived in 721. It was instituted in England in the year 1100 by St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury; afterwards in the diocese of Lyons, in the year 1145; and finally Sixtus IV commanded, in the year 1576 (note: this date is wrong; Sixtus IV died in 1484), the celebration of it throughout Christendom. (Molanus, Notes to Usuard.)"]
Our Lady of Good Health. (Note also the feasts on the Second Sunday of May and on Sept. 8).
Virgen de Salud Basilica. Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico. 1554. Patron saint of this region of Mexico. Prayer experience at festival. Healing dolls. Cuban church is site of dissident march, 1998. Malta.
9. Madonna della Concezione (Our Lady of the Conception). Naples, Italy. 1618. ["...so call because, in the year 1618, the viceroy, with all his court, and the soldiery of Naples, made a vow, in the church of Our Lady the Great, to believe and defend the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin. (Triple Couronne, n. 43.)"]
Blessed Juan Diego, the Indian to whom appeared the Virgin of Guadalupe.
10. Translation of the Holy House of Loreto (Santa Casa di Loreto). Loreto, Italy. 1291. The house is a relic said to be the actual building where Joseph, Mary, and their child Jesus lived. The "translation" is the date on which angels are said to have moved the house from Israel to Italy. (Note the English tradition that an exact copy of the house was constructed by angels in Walsingham, England, in the mid-11th century.)
["Institution by nuns of the Conception of Our Lady, by Beatrice of Sylva, to whom it is said that Our Lady appeared in the year 1484, clothed with a white robe and a scapular of the same color, with a blue mantle. Beatrice, sister of Blessed Amadeus, adopted this habit for her order, which was approved by Innocent III, under the rule of Citeaux. (Antonius Vasconcellius, in Descriptione regni Lusitaniae.)"]
11. Notre-dame des Anges (Our Lady of the Angels). Forest of Livry, near Paris, France. 1212. Cathedral in Los Angeles Monastery in Alabama. Chapel in France. ["Three merchants of Anjou having been ill-treated in 1212 in this forest, by robbers who tied them to trees, intending to leave them to die, had recourse to the Blessed Virgin, who immediately sent them three angels to restore them to liberty. After this miracle, several more were wrought, which made this chapel very celebrated. (Registers of the Abbey of Livry.)"]
12. Our Lady of Guadalupe. Mexico. 1531.
Notre Dame de Bonne-Nouvelle (Our Lady of Good News/Good Tidings). Abbeville, France. Cathedral in Nancy, France. Church in Paris, and name of a region of Paris. Very interesting cross from a chapel in Quimper, France. See also Sept. 16, Nov. 19. ["This little chapel, which is in St. Peter's priory, has always been much frequented. (Antiquités de Abbeville, book 1.)]
13. Notre-Dame de Sainte Chapelle (Our Lady of the Holy Chapel). Paris, France. Very historic chapel in Paris. Setting of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. ["This image, which is under the portal of the lower Holy Chapel has wrought many miracles."]
14. Our Lady of Alba Regis. Hungary. ["...was built by St. Stephen, King of Hungary who had given his kingdom to the Blessed Virgin. (John Bonifacius, Historia Virginia, book 2, chapter 1.)"]
15. Octave of the Immaculate Conception. ["...instituted by Pope Sixtus IV (Bullarium)."]
Our Lady of the Armed Forces. For more, see Colonel Le Marchant de Trigon. “Our Lady of the Armed Forces.” Lourdes Magazine, no. 90 (102), (April/May 2001): 27.
16. Institution of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Deliverance (Saydet An-Najat, in Syriac). France. ["...in the Church of St. Stephen des Gres, at Paris, about the year 1533, in which Gregory XIII granted ample indulgences in the year 1538."]
Procession in Paris. In Peking/Beijing (critical of Cardinal Etchegary's accommodation of the Communist tyranny, similar to his support for Yassir Arafat). In life of St. Rafqua/Rafka; more. In Iraq. Syriac Catholic diocese in New Jersey. In Lebanon. In Sri Lanka. Statue in New Orleans cathedral. Prayer. In De Tout, by Joris Karl Huysmans. In Papal document from 1155. See also July 29.
Our Lady of Good Deliverance. (Notre-Dame de Bonne Délivrance; Notre-Dame de Bon Secours). Picture. Black Madonna. Statue in St. Etienne des-Grès, the Black Madonna of Paris (La vierge noire de Paris). History of Parisian devotion. More. Spiritan association.
17. Notre-Dame d'Amiens. France. Photographs of the Cathedral, the largest medieval building in France. French website. ["This church had for its first bishop St. Firmin, who received the crown of martyrdom during the persecution of Diocletian. A part of the head of St. John the Baptist is seen in this church, which a traveler, named Galo, brought thither on his return from Constantinople, in year 1201. (Locrius, Marie Augustae, book 4, chapter 59.)"]
18. Feast of the Expectation of Mary.
Feast of Our Lady of the Way. A miraculous image in the Philippines. See also Aug. 11.
["Dedication of Our Lady of Marseilles, by St. Lazarus, in the presence of his two sisters, Mary Magdalen and Martha, and of three holy prelates--Maximus, Trophimus, and Eutropius. (Canisius, book 5, Moral.)"]
19. Unsere Dame von Etalem. Bavaria, Germany.
Nuestra Señora de Toledo. Spain. 657. Further reading. La Orden del Santo Sepulcro y el arte mudéjar: Nuestra Señora de Toledo (Citation to article in Spanish). Toledo Catedral de Santa María declared part of the common heritage of mankind. ["In the year 657, St. Ildefonsus, Archbishop of Toledo, was saying matins; Our Lady, it is said, appeared to him, accompanied by a great number of the blessed, and holding in her hand the book which he had composed in her honor, she thanked him for it, and out of gratitude gave him a white chasuble. This celestial present is still preserved as Oviedo, Alphonsus the Chaste, King of Castile, having solemnly transferred it to the Church of St. Saviour, which he had built. (Baronius, ad ann. 657, n 42.)"]
20. ["The Abbey our Lady of Molême, of the order of St. Benedict, in the diocese of Langres, was founded on this day, in the year 1075, by St. Robert, who was its abbot. (Gallia Christiana, t. iv.).]
21. Notre-Dame de Saint-Acheul. Amiens, France. Cathedral. ["Foundation of St. Acheul, near Amiens, under the title of Our Lady, by St. Firmin, first bishop of that city. (Archives of St. Acheul.)"]
22. Notre-Dame de Chartres, Mother of Youth. Beauce, France. 1935. See also July 13, Aug. 6, Aug. 17, Oct. 17, Dec. 31. ["This church, built in the time of the apostles, after being several times demolished, was rebuilt in its present form by St. Fulbert, 55th bishop of Chartres. (Sebastien Rouillard, Parthén, chapter 5.)"]
23, ["Our Lady of Ardilliers, at Saumur, in Anjou (France). Its name is illustrious throughout France, as well on account of the crowds of people who were attracted thither, as from a fountain which cured many maladies. This image represents Our Lady of Pity holding in her arms her lifeless Son, whose head is supported by an angel. (Locrius, Marise Augustae, book 4, chapter 60.)"]
24. Marriage of Mary and St. Joseph.
By the festival chronology, Mary was betrothed to Joseph in January. By Jewish law, they were husband and wife, although couples typically held a public marriage ceremony later. Mary became pregnant with Jesus on March 25. Shortly thereafter, when she tells Joseph, he is called "Joseph her husband." (Matthew 1:19). Paintings of the ceremony, from the ABC Gallery website's Virgin Mary page: Fra Angelico Annunciation. The Wedding of the Virgin. Giotto The Marriage Procession of the Virgin. Marriage of the Virgin; El Greco Marriage of the Virgin; Pietro Perugino Marriage of the Virgin; Nicolas Poussin. The Marriage of the Virgin, The Marriage of the Virgin. Stained glass of the wedding ceremony, and essay thereon. Essay on the marriage. Fulton Sheen on the marriage. John Paul II on St. Joseph. Traditional Catholic study lesson the ceremony and marriage.
Vigil of the Nativity. ["Celebration of the virginal marriage of Our Lady and St. Joseph, kept as a festival for a long time at Sense and several churches of France. (Saussey, Martyrologium Gallicum.)"]
25. Christmas. ["On this day, at the hour of midnight, the Blessed Virgin brought forth the Saviour of the world, at a stable in Bethlehem, where a fountain sprang up miraculously the same day. (Baronius, Apparat. ad Annal.)"]
26. Institution of the Confraternity of the Conception of Our Lady. 1443. The military Order of the Conception of Our Lady was founded by the Duke of Mantua with the approval of Pope Urban VII in 1623, but never advanced beyond the initial stages. [Confraternity was instituted "at the Great Augustinian Convent, at Paris, in the year 1443, where there have been ample indulgences granted since, by Pope Innocent III. (Du Breuil, Antiquités, book 2.)"]
27. Institution of the Order of the Knights of Our Lady/Militia Sanctae Mariae. 1370. The Knights were principally opponents of usury (properly understood as exploitive or excessive interest, rather than interest per se). New ultra-traditionalist Order of the same name founded in 1945 in France. [1370 institution "by Louis II, Duke of Bourbon. (Andrew Favin, book 8, Histoire de Navarre, and Thêâtre d'Honneur, book 3.)"](The full cite for the latter book is André Fayvn, Le Theatre d'Honneur et de Chevalerie ou l'Histoire des Ordres Militaires (Paris, 1620). There is an English edition, titled Theatre of Honor and Knighthood, which was published in 1623. The full cite for the other book is Histoire de Navarre, Contenant l'Origine, les Vies & conquestes des ses Roys, depuis leur commencemant iusque a present (Paris, 1612).)
28. ["Our Lady of Portoise, seven leagues from Paris. This image, which stands in front of the church of the suburb of this town, towards Rouen, is celebrated for the miracles which are wrought there. (Archives of the church.)"]
29. Unsere Dame von Spire. Germany. 1146. ["St. Bernard, entering this church on the 29th of December, 1146, was honorably received there by the canons, who conducted him to the choir, singing the "Salve Regina." At the close of the antiphon, St. Bernard saluted the image of the Blessed Virgin in these terms: "O clemens, O pia, O duclis Virga Maria!" and it is said that she answered: "Salve Benarde!" The words of this saint to the iamge are seen engraved in a circle on the pavement of the church, on the same spot where he pronounced them, and they have since been added to the "Salve Regina," which was composed in the year 1040, by Herman, surnamed Contractus, a Benedictine monk. (Angelus Manrique, annals of the Cistercians, year 1146, chapter 10, etc.)"]
30. Madonna della Bologna (Boulougne). Picardy, Italy. 1193. Order: Gaudenti of Our Lady of Bologna.["This church was founded by the hermits of St. Augustine in the year 1159; it was pillaged by Henry VIII, King of England, in the year 1544, secularized and made a cathedral in the year 1559, according to Locrius. (Gallia Christiana, t. 4.)"]
31. ["About a hundred years before the birth of our Saviour, the image of Our Lady of Chartres, which the Druids had consecrated to the Blessed Virgin, who was to be a mother, raised to life the son of Geoffry, king of prince of Montlhery, who, having fallen into a well, had been found dead; out of gratitude for this favor, he made several presents to this image, as the history of this miracle attests, which is represented in the stained glass of the great church. (Sebastien Bouillard, Parthén, chapter 3.)"] (See also July 13, Aug. 6, Aug. 17, Oct. 17).
And the Forever Whole and Perfect Maiden said:
"Comprehend and know, my youngest child,
nothing should scare or concern you.
Don't worry.
Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain.
Am I not right here who is your Mother?
Are you not under my shadow and protection?
Am I not the foundation of your being
your sustenance, your happiness, peace and effortlessness?
Are you not in the fold of my mantle?
Doyou need anything else?
Don't allow anything to disturb you any more."
Mary theVirgin of Guadelupe to Juan Diego, December 12, 1531.
Want to suggest a site for this page? Just send an e-mail which explains how the site supplements, rather than duplicates, material already on this page. This page was created by Dave Kopel
Copyright © 2015
"She's got everything delightful, she's got everything I need."
