MaryLinks Calendar
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.
This web page is very much under construction, with links for particular days being added.
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 stpot 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 beseiged Rome, to punish Sixtus IV, for having prevented his aiding the Duke of Ferrara against the Venetians, this soveign 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 acknowledgement 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.
MOVABLE FEASTS
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).
3. Our Lady of Seidaneida/Saidenaida. Damascus, Syria.
4. Our Lady of the Pillar (Nuestra Señora Del Pilar). Saragossa, Spain. 40. The first Marian apparition. Scholarly debate. "The Mother of the Hispanic Peoples."
5. Dedication of the first church of Our Lady. By St. Peter. Tortosa, Italy.
6. Our Lady of Louvain. Belgium. 1444. Painting.
7. Our Lady of Grace. Abbey of Saint-Sauve, Montreil-sur-Mer. Rome. 1610.
8. Our Lady of the Lily. Melun, France. 13th century.
9. Octave of the Purification of Our Lady. (End of the 8-day festival beginning on Feb. 2).
10. Our Lady of the Dove. 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 operatta) by Tomas Breton.
11. Our Lady of Lourdes. France. 1858.
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.
Our Lady of Iweron. Moscow
The Virgin of Mt. Athos. Moscow.
13. Our Lady of Hot Oven/Notre Dame de Bourges. Church in Bourges, France. An alchemist analyzes (in French) the stained glass windows of the church.
14. Our Lady of Bourburg. Flanders. 1383.
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. 522.
16. Our Lady of the Thorn. Chalons-sur-Marne, France. 19th century. Name of a former convent in Portugal, now being reconstructed into a luxury hotel.
17. The Immaculate Mother. Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
Our Lady of Constantinople. Bari, Turkey. 566. 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."
18. Notre Dame de Laon. Rheims, France. 500. Church erected by St. Remigius.
19. Our Lady of Good Tidings. Lemdpes, France. 16th century.
20. Notre Dame de Boulogne-sur-Mer. France. 633
21. Our Lady of Good Haven (Notre Dame de Bon Port). Dol, France. For mariners.
23. Our Lady of the Rocks. Salamanca, Spain. 434. Brotherhood of the Americas of Our Lady of the Rock (Also in Spanish).
24. Pope Gregory the Great leads a procession in Rome with a painting of Mary, attributed to St. Luke, and a plague ends. 591.
25. Our Lady of Victory. Constantinople. 621. (See also Oct. 7.)
Our Lady of Great Power. Quebec. 1673.
26. Our Lady of the Fields. Paris. St. Denis. 250.
27. Nossa Senhora das Luzes/ Our Lady of Light/s. Lisbon, Portugal; Palermo, Italy. 18th century.
28. Monastery of the Annunciation. Bethune, France. 1519.
MOVABLE FEASTS
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.
2. Our Lady of Apparitions. Madrid, Spain. 1449.
3. Our Lady of Longpont/Longport. Valois, France. 1131.
Our Lady of Angels. Toulouse, France.
4. Our Lady of Guard (de la Guard). Aragon, Spain/Marseille, France. 1221.
5. Our Lady of Good Aid/Help. Nancy, France; Montreal. 1657.
6. Nossa Senhora do Nazareth. Pierre-Noire, Portugal. 1150.
7. Nossa Senhora da estrala/ Our Lady of the Star. Villa-Vicioza, Portugal.
8. Our Lady of the Lily.
Nossa Senhora/Our Lady of Virtues. Lisbon, Portugal. Purity, prudence, humility, faith, piety, obedience, poverty, patience, charity, compassion.
9. Notre Dame de Savigny. France. 1112.
10. Our Lady of the Vine. Viterbo, Italy.
11. Nossa Senhora das florestas/Our Lady of the Forests. Porto, Portugal, 12th century; Britain, 1419. Triptych Our Lady of the Forests.
Madonna da Costantinopoli Society. Bitritto (Bari).
12. Our Lady of Miracles. St. Maur des Fosses. France.
13. Our Lady of the Empress. Rome. 593.
14. Our Lady of Kostrama. Russia.
Our Lady of the Breach (Notre Dame de la Breche). Chartres, France. 1568. Picture of the church.
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.
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. Church on Greek Island of Chios. Monastary 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 Jersusalem. 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.
18. Our Lady of Loreto. (The house where Mary and Joseph raised Jesus.) History and links. Cathedral built by Pope Sixtus V. 1586
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.
Solemnity of St. Joseph. 29 A.D.
20. Our Lady of Calevourt. Uckelen, Belgium. 1454
21. Our Lady of Bruges. Flanders. 1150. Relic of Mary's hair.
22. Notre Dame de Citeaux. France. 1098. Constructed by St. Robert.
Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary.
23. Our Lady of Victory of Lepanto. Hungary. 1716. (See Oct. 7 for details).
24. Vigil of the Annunciation. Instituted by Pope Gregory XI.
25. Annunciation. Instituted by the Apostles. The oldest Marian festival. 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. Relic of a Marian shoe.
28. Our Lady of Castelbruedo (Nuestra Señora de Castelbruedo). Catalonia, Spain.
30. Notre Dame de Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. 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. 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.
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.
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. Douai, France.
7. Our Lady of the Forsaken/of Puig. Valencia, Spain.
8. Feast of the Miracles of Our Lady. Cambron, near Mons, Belgium.
Our Lady of the Valley. 1040.
9. Notre Dame de Myans. Near Chambrey, Savoy, France.
10. Notre Dame de Laval. Viverais, France. 1646.
11. Nuestra Señora de Montserrat. Spain. Restoration of sight to a blind man.
Notre Dame de Fourviere. France.
12. Interior Life of the Blessed Virgin. Marianist Missal.
Our Lady of Charity. Toulouse, France; Cobre, Cuba.
13. Our Lady of Mantua. Apparition of Mary to Blessed Jane of Mantua. 1640.
14. Apparition of Mary to St. Ludivina. 1433.
Our Lady of Guam.
15. Our Lady of Kieff. Russia. 1010.
16. Our Lady of Victory/Victories. Church of St. Mark, Venice.
17. Nossa Senhora/Our Lady of Arabida. Portugal. 16th
century.
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.
22. Notre Dame de Betharam. Diocese of Lescar, Bearn, France. 1503.
23. Pope Calistus III grants Indulgences to visitors of the Cathedral of Arras, which holds a Marian veil and cincture (sash). 1455.
Our Lady of Mende. Africa. 16th century.
24. Madonna della Bonaria. Sardinia, Italy. 1370. Mary is declared Patron of Sardinia in 1908.
25. Dedication of the Lower Holy Chapel in honor Mary. Paris. 1248.
Our Lady of Good Counsel of Genazzano, Italy. 1467. History.
26. Mother/Our Lady of Good Counsel. 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.
28. Our Lady of the Oak (Notre-Dame du Chêne). Near Sable, Anjou, France. In Middle Ages. As Druidic custom absorbed by Christianity.
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 Church, Amiens, France.
Our Lady Queen of Orphans. Celebrated by the Somaschians.
30. Notre-Dame de Nantes. Bretagne, France.
Our Lady of Africa. Algiers. 1876. Celebrated by the White Fathers.
MOVABLE FEASTS:
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. Luxemburg.
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.
2. Our Lady of Oviedo. Spain. 711.
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.
4. Our Lady the Helper. Near Caen, France.
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.
6. Our Lady of Miracles. Church of Our Lady of Peace, Rome. 1483.
7. Second feast of Our Lady of Haut. Hainaut, France.
8. Madonna della Pompeii. Italy.
The scholar Justus Lipsius donates his silver pen to the Church of Our Lady of Haut
9. Our Lady of Miracles. Mauriac, France.
Madonna della Loreto. Ancona, Italy.
10. Our Lady of Saussai/Saussaie. France. 1305.
Constantinople is dedicated to Mary. 4th century.
11. Mary appears to St. Philip Neri. 1594.
Nossa Senhora Aparecida. Patroness of Brazil.
12. Humility of Our Lady.
Our Lady of Power. Aubervillers, France.
13. Our Lady of Martyrs. Rome; Lisbon. 608.
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.
15. Notre-Dame de France. 1860.
16. Mary appears to St. Catherine of Alexandria. 4th century.
17. Our Lady of Tears. Spoletto/Spoleto, Italy.
18. Notre-Dame de Bonport. Evreux, France. 1190. 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. 1729.
20. Church of La Ferte is dedicated to Mary. Burgundy, France. 1113.
21. Our Lady of Sweat. Salerno, Italy. 1611.
Our Lady of Vladimir. Russia. 1115.
22. Madonna della Mount Vergine (Virgin's Mount). Naples, Italy. 1119.
23. Our Lady of Miracles. St. Onier, Belgium; Brescia, Italy. 1478.
24. Our Lady of the Way. Rome.
25. Our Lady of the New Jerusalem. Built by Emperor Justinian. Jerusalem, Israel. 530.
26. Notre-Dame de Vaucelles. Cambrai, France. Built in 1140. French site about the abbey. French history.
Madonna della Caravaggio. Italy. 1432.
27. Madonna della Naples. Italy.
28. Feast of the Relics of Our Lady. Venice, Italy. Fragments of her veil, more.
Mary armed with a spear saves Rhodes. 1480. Web summary of the account in Robert Ernst, Lexikon der Marienerscheinungen (Lexicon of Mary Appearances) (1980):
In 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. 1095.
30. Dedication of the Church of the Virgin's Mountain/Mount Vergine. Naples, Italy. Approx. 1119. Monastery founded by St. William. Home of a Black Madonna.
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). 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
MOVABLE FEASTS
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 Balisica. 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.
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.
Installation of the Robe of the Mother of God (Orthodox).
3. Madonna della Sosopoli/Sasopoli. Italy. 14th century.
Our Lady of the Holy Letter.
4. Our Lady of the Hill. Fribourg, Switzerland; Lombardy, Italy. 4th century.
6. St. Francis de Sales founds the Nuns of the Visitation of Our Lady. 1610.
7. Our Lady of the Valley of the Cistercian Order.
Our Lady of Marienthal. Germany. 13th century.
8. The Immaculate Heart of Mary. New.
Our Lady of Alexandria. Egypt. 4th century.
9. Our Lady of Ligny. Near Bac-le-Duc, Lorraine, France.
Mother of Grace. Prayer. Long prayer. Short prayer. Celebrated May 8 by Augustinians. Modern sculpture.
Madonna della Meentorello. Italy.
13. Our Lady of Sichem, Belgium. 1604. 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. 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. 804.
17. Our Lady of the Forest. Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Shrine in Illinois.
18. Mary appears to St. Agnes of Mount Politian/Montepulciano. Italy.
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 venerates Mary's comb. Treves, Germany.
20. Our Lady of Blaquernes. Constantinople. Basilica.
Our Lady of Consolation. Luxumburg. 1624. Shrine in West Grinstead, England.
21. Our Lady of Matareih. Grand Cairo, Egypt.
22. Madonna della Narni. Italy. 15th century. Mary speaks to the virgin stigmatine Blessed Lucy of Narni (1476-1547).
25. Council of Ephesus declares Mary to be the Mother of God, the "Theotokas." 341.
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.
27. Notre Dame de la Dorade. Toulouse, France.
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.
29. Notre Dame de Buglose. Landes, France. 1634. History of the shrine.
30. Notre Dame de Calais. France. 1347. Built by the Anglo-Normans when they controlled the north coast of France.
Our Lady of the Rose. Patroness of Makati, Philippines.
MOVABLE FEASTS
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.
2. Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin. Instituted by Pope Urban VI. 1385.
Unveiling and blessing of the statue of Our Lady of Penrhys, Wales. 1953.
3. Notre Dame de la Carolle. Paris. 1418.
4. Our Lady of Miracles. Avignon, France. Church built by Pope John XXII. 14th century.
Our Lady of Refuge. Pueblo, Mexico.
5. Notre Dame de Cambrai/Cambray. Arras, France. 1472.
6. Notre Dame d'Iron. Blois, Dunois, France. 1631.
7. Our Lady of Roermund/Arras. Netherlands. 1380.
8. Our Lady of Kasan/Kazan. Russia.
Our Lady of Peace. Capuchin Church, 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. 1056.
10. Notre Dame de Boulogne. France. 1469.
11. Notre Dame de Clery. Near Orleans, France. 15th century.
12. Our Lady of All Graces.
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 inscription "To the Virgin who is to bring forth." The statue and altar are known as ""Virgini paritur" and were built by Druids. 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.
14. Nossa Senhora do arbusto/Our Lady of the Bush. Portugal.
15. Our Lady of Molanus. 1099.
Godfrey de Bouillon defeats the Turks at Jerusalem in 1099, through the Mary's intercession
16. Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Feast of the Brown Scapular a/k/a The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. History.
17. Humility of Mary. Religious order. In America.
Madonna della Campitelli. Italy. 524.
18. Our Lady of Victory. Toledo, Spain. 1202.
19. Notre Dame de Moyen-Pont. Near Peronne, France.
20. Notre Dame de Grace. Picpus, Faubourg St. Antoine, Paris. 1629. Explanation of the icon (in French). Neighborhood in Montreal.
21. Notre Dame de Verdun. Lorraine, France. 5th century. Cathedral. Music from the cathedral's grand organ. French website. Architectural history, in French.
22. Our Lady of Safety/Safe Hiding. Marseilles, France; Overloon, Netherlands.
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. 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 Archeological 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. Blanc, Berry, France; Quebec. 1920. Photos of items from the French church.
26. Notre Dame de la Foi. Our Lady of Faith. Chaucy, Abbeville, France.
Our Lady of Techwin. Russia.
27. Notre Dame de La Foi. Our Lady of Faith. Gravelines, France.
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. Besançon, France. 1602.
31. Nossa Senhora/Our Lady of the Slain. Ceiça, Lorban, Portugal. Chapel.
MOVABLE FEASTS
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 to the three founders of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy/Order for Redeeming Captives. 1218. (See Aug. 10.)
2. Our Lady of the Angels. Assisi, Italy; Cartago, Costa Rica. 13th century.
4. Our Lady of Dordrecht. Netherlands. Shrine built by St. Santera.
5. Our Lady of the Snow. Commemorates the dedication of the Church of St. Mary Major. Rome. 352. Repository of Jesus' crib.
Our Lady of Protection
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. See also July 13, Aug. 17, Oct. 17, Dec. 22, Dec. 31.
7. Our Lady of Schiedam. Netherlands. 15th century.
8. Our Lady of Kuehn/La Kuen. Near Brussels, Belgium.
9. Our Lady of Oegnies. Brabant, Netherlands.
10. Order of Our Lady of Mercy is instituted. Barcelona, Spain. 1218. 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.
12. Notre Dame de Rouen. Normandy, France.
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. 58. "Falling asleep" before the Assumption.
14. Vigil of the Assumption (fast).
15. Assumption of Mary. Instituted by Pope Leo IV in 847. ("Repose" on the Orthodox calendar.)
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.
17. Philip the Fair, King of France, wins a battle after asking the aid of Our Lady of Chartres. 1304. 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.
19. Our Lady of the Don. Russia. 1380.
Nossa Senhora/Our Lady of Jerusalem. Near Montecarro, Portugal.
20. Commemoration of St. Bernard's "Ave Maria." Brabant, Netherlands.
21. Our Lady of Knock. Ireland. 1879. Ireland's most famous apparition.
22. Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Background. Ad Caeli Reginam, Encyclical on Proclaiming the Queenship of Mary, Pope Pius XII, October 11, 1954.
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 of Valois defeat the Flemings.
24. Notre Dame de Benoite-Vaux. France.
25. Madonna della Mt. Berico. Near Vicenza, Italy.
Madonna della Rossano. Calabria, Italy.
26. Our Lady of Arbour/ Notre Dame de la Treille. (Douai/Douay, France. 1543.
27. Notre Dame de Moustier. Near Sisteron, France.
Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
28. Our Lady of Kiev. Ukraine. 1240.
29. Our Lady of Clermont. Cracovia/Cracow. Poland.
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. Portugal.
31. Our Lady of the Founders. Constantinople.
Deposition of Our Lady's Girdle in Our Lady of Founders Church.
Placement of the Zone (Belt). Orthodox.
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).
MOVABLE FEASTS
Saturday after the Assumption: Notre Dame de la Garde. Marseille, 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. Collection of the all Feasts of Our Lady. Louvain, Belgium.
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. 1441.
3. Mother of the Divine Shepherd. France.
5. Our Lady of Smolensk. Russia.
6. Our Lady of Guadalupe. Spain.
Our Lady of the Fountain/Valenciennes. France.
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.
Nuestra Señora de Filermo. Malta. Celebrates the lifting of the Turkish siege in 1565.
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. 221.
Joachim and Anna, the parents of Mary (Orthodox).
10. Our Lady of Trut. Cologne, Germany. Shrine built by St. Heribert. 10th century.
11. Our Lady of Hildesheim. Brunswick, Germany. 11th century.
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.
13. Maria Zell/Our Lady of Zell. Austria.
Our Lady of Guadalupe/Guadelupa. Spain.
Our Lady of Siluva. Lithuania. 1608. Lithuanian site. English.
14. Our Lady of Fontevrault. France.
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
16. Our Lady of Good News. Orleans, France; Sicily, Italy. (See also Nov. 19, Dec. 12).
Our Lady of the Rocks. Pasto, Columbia.
Our Lady of Help. Socorro, Columbia.
17. Our Lady of the Candles. 15th century/
Placement of image of Our Lady of le Puy. Velay, France. Donated St. Louis IX.
18. Our Lady of Smelcem. Belgium.
19. Notre Dame de La Salette. France. 1846. Apparition.
Our Lady of Healing. Mt. Leon, Gascogny, France.
20. Our Lady of the Silver Foot. Toul, Lorraine, France. 1284.
21. Our Lady of Pucha. Valencia, Spain.
22. An angel tells St. Anne to name her daughter "Mary."
23. Our Lady of Valvanere. Spain.
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. Cahors, Quercy, France.
25. Our Lady of Passer. Rhodes, Greece.
Madonna, Divine Shepherdess. Spain. 1703
26. Our Lady of Victory. Tournay/Tourney, France.
27. Our Lady-of Happy Meeting/Assembly. Le Laus, France. 1664.
29. Apparition of the Madonna di Tirano to blessed Mario Omodei. Italy, 1504. Site of a basilica built the next year.
30. Notre Dame de Beaumont. Beaumont is a town in Auvergne, 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).
MOVABLE FEASTS
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.")
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.)
3. Our Lady of the Place. Rome. 1250.
6. Our Lady of All Help. 1640.
Madonna della Plebe. Venice, Italy. 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."
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 (732 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. 1624
11. Feast of the Divine Maternity of Our Lady.
Our Lady, Mother of the Savior. Salvatorians.
Our Lady, the White. Ouville, Caux, France.
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. 1609.
Our Lady of Jerusalem. Moscow, Russia.
13. Notre Dame de Clairvaux. France, 12th century.
14. Notre Dame de La Rochelle. France. 7th century.
15. Our Lady of Terouenne. 133.
16. Madonna della Milan. By Pope Martin V. 1417.
Our Lady of Purity. Theatine Fathers. Painting. In dream sequence in Virginia Woolf book. Picture.
17. Notre Dame de Chartres. By St. Pontianus. France. 40, 46. July 13, Aug. 6, Aug. 17, Dec. 22, Dec. 31
18. Notre Dame de Rheims. Built by St. Nicasius. 405.
19. Notre Dame de Royaumont. France. 1235.
20. Dedication of the Abbey of Our Lady. Pontigny, France. 1114.
Immaculate Heart of Mary. Marianist Missal.
21. Notre Dame de Talan. Dijon, France.
22. Our Lady of the Underground. Our Lady of the Vault. Grand Cairo. 12th century.
23. Our Lady of Consolation. Notre-Dame de Comfort. Honfleur, France. Basilica and National Shrine in Carey, Ohio. Franciscan Friars.
24. Our Lady of Hermits. Black Madonna in Einsiedeln, Switzerland. 1418. Brief mention in an essay on Black Madonnas.
25. Our Lady of Toledo. Spain. 1070. Pro-life shrine.
26. Notre Dame des Victoires /Victories. Senlis, France. 1225. Basilica in Paris. Church in Quebec.
27. Dedication of the Basilica of Our Lady, Help of Christians. Turin, Italy. 1868. History.
Madonna della Basillia. Lombardy, Italy.
28. Notre Dame de Vivonne. Savoy, France.
Notre Dame des Trilles. Lille, France.
Holy Protection of the Mother of God is celebrated in Greece. On Oct. 1 elsewhere.
29. Madonna della Oropa. Vercelli, Italy. 380; Bielle, Savoy, France. Sanctuary, Wikipedia (in italiano).
30. Madonna della Mondevi. Piedmont, Italy. 1540.
31. Miracle at St. Fort. Chartres, France. 1116. Mary saves a choirboy who fell into a well.
Moveable 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 Sicilty 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 worshipped 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 Constantinope, 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 Lday 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?
Do you need anything else?
Don't allow anything to disturb you any more."
Mary the Virgin of Guadeloupe to Juan Diego, December 12, 1531.
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"She's got everything delightful, she's got everything I need."
