On our Pilgrim's Page we invite members to write about favourite Marian shrines and devotions.
Our Lady of Amersfoort by Michiel Van Leeuwen
In the year of our Lord 1444 in the city of Amersfoort a marvelous miracle happened. Around Christmas, an honorable woman named Griet Albert Ghisen, was asked by Our Lady to jump three times on the frozen moat outside the gate to go Kamper. Griet received a vision telling her that beneath the ice a statue of Our Lady stood motionless, not sinking to the bottom or flowing with the current.
When Griet told her employer, the dyer January Huberts, he laughed it off saying that she had dreamt it but twice she received the same vision and after the third time she made a hole in the ice of the canal and there indeed was the statue of Mary. The image at first was venerated in her living room with a candle burning before it, but on Christmas Eve Griet brought it to her confessor, a Carmelite friar, Jan Schoonhoven. In his house the miracles began and in January 1445 the miraculous statue was brought to Our Lady's Chapel. From that moment pilgrims came from far and wide to venerate it.
This painting of 1525 shows how Griet retreived the statue in a wooden bucket from under the ice. Pictured behind her are the city walls, the towers of the Church of Our Lady (left) and the Church of
St. George. When the statue was found, was Our Lady's Tower, a landmark in Amersfoort had not yet been built. The Lady Chapel, where the statue was enshrined, received its tower in 1470, while the chapel itself become too cramped for the many pilgrims and the church was enlarged, all thanks to the extra revenue brought to the city by the pilgrims. St George's Church, which was then the parish church was then overshadowed by the splendour of the new church.
When Griet told her employer, the dyer January Huberts, he laughed it off saying that she had dreamt it but twice she received the same vision and after the third time she made a hole in the ice of the canal and there indeed was the statue of Mary. The image at first was venerated in her living room with a candle burning before it, but on Christmas Eve Griet brought it to her confessor, a Carmelite friar, Jan Schoonhoven. In his house the miracles began and in January 1445 the miraculous statue was brought to Our Lady's Chapel. From that moment pilgrims came from far and wide to venerate it.
This painting of 1525 shows how Griet retreived the statue in a wooden bucket from under the ice. Pictured behind her are the city walls, the towers of the Church of Our Lady (left) and the Church of
St. George. When the statue was found, was Our Lady's Tower, a landmark in Amersfoort had not yet been built. The Lady Chapel, where the statue was enshrined, received its tower in 1470, while the chapel itself become too cramped for the many pilgrims and the church was enlarged, all thanks to the extra revenue brought to the city by the pilgrims. St George's Church, which was then the parish church was then overshadowed by the splendour of the new church.
Relics
In the late Middle Ages virtually all churches had one or more important relics, which could range from a piece of the Holy Cross to the foreskin of Christ and bones of saints. The possession of such a relic gave the church not only religious status, but was economically significant because the pilgrims put money in the cash box.
The whole city took advantage of their presence. One may indeed compare the medieval pilgrimage with a contemporary tourist attraction. The inns were full, the visitors had to eat and drink and there were religious souvenirs for the pilgrims to buy. Among the relics preserved from the middle ages in Amersfoort is the Holy Alb of St Odulphus, a 9th century Benedictine monk of Utecht.
The possession of the miraculous statue of Mary drew pilgrims in great numbers which in turn brought Amersfoort great economic benefits. The city council did not waste any time in establishing an annual procession and a fair in the market place. Such activities could at that time coexist perfectly, in fact, the current division between religious and secular activities did not exist in the Middle Ages. Thus, the market, religious plays, the procession, fair and carnival all brought a real influx of visitors and good sales at the local shops. This was the city, then a simple country town with a large rural population, not bad.
The whole city took advantage of their presence. One may indeed compare the medieval pilgrimage with a contemporary tourist attraction. The inns were full, the visitors had to eat and drink and there were religious souvenirs for the pilgrims to buy. Among the relics preserved from the middle ages in Amersfoort is the Holy Alb of St Odulphus, a 9th century Benedictine monk of Utecht.
The possession of the miraculous statue of Mary drew pilgrims in great numbers which in turn brought Amersfoort great economic benefits. The city council did not waste any time in establishing an annual procession and a fair in the market place. Such activities could at that time coexist perfectly, in fact, the current division between religious and secular activities did not exist in the Middle Ages. Thus, the market, religious plays, the procession, fair and carnival all brought a real influx of visitors and good sales at the local shops. This was the city, then a simple country town with a large rural population, not bad.
Pilgrim's Mark
The procession itself was a big event, that turned the whole city upside down. It was quite similar to the present-day carnival in the south of the Netherlands. In preparation for it the city was cleaned and the many obstacles along the route - from sty to chickens - were cleared. The miraculous statue was carried in a long procession, followed by the full council, the principal citizens, shooting clubs, fraternities and church boards.
Our Lady of Amersfoort
Everyone was allowed to join the procession, but there were also many people on the side watching. Pilgrims from all over the world blew their horns and the souvenir traders did well.
Sadly the original statue has not survived but the pulverized remains of it are kept in a red bag along with an original satin cope and silver crown in a special relicquary. The remains are enshrined on a seventeenth century altar in the Old Catholic Church of St George.
Sadly the original statue has not survived but the pulverized remains of it are kept in a red bag along with an original satin cope and silver crown in a special relicquary. The remains are enshrined on a seventeenth century altar in the Old Catholic Church of St George.
Reliquary containing the remains
Original silver crown and cope
Chapel of Our Lady of Amersfoort in St George's Old Catholic Church
Our Lady of Mercy, Gallivaggio
On Monday the 14th May, Our Lady's month, Monsignore Bruno and I stopped at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy in Gallivaggio in the Valle della Spluga. This magnificent shrine is just about 20 kilometres away from our home at St Gall's Retreat in the Swiss canton of Graubunden, but takes a couple of hours by car during the summer months, in winter even longer! So near and yet so far, it is a world away, and is in Lombardy, Italy, rather than Switzerland. The Sanctuary, considered the spiritual heart of the Chiavenna area, was founded in 1492 following an apparition of Our Lady and the alpine landscape here is so reminiscent of that at the most famous of Marian shrines, Lourdes. Indeed there are several similarities between the two stories. ... Just as St Bernadette was out collecting firewood at Massabielle, so in Gallivaggio two young girls of the families Buzzetti and Gianotti were out gathering chestnuts, which were very plentiful on this rocky mountainside. Suddenly they were startled by a beautiful light, which began to take the form of a girl who grew into a woman, standing on a nearby boulder. She was veiled and seemed to be surrounded with fluttering angel wings like so many butterflies. The boulder on which Our Lady stood is now enshrined beneath the altar of the church whilst a beautiful wooden frieze depicts this event on an outside wall of the church.
At first the two girls were surprised and frightened but it appears that they knew immediately to whom they were speaking. After inquiring if the chestnut harvest were sufficient Our Lady soon got down to business informing the girls that she appears wherever there are sinners to be converted. Her especial concerns were a need for prayer and penance and especially the proper religious observance of Sundays and Feast days, in fact very much the same concerns as have been expressed more recently at La Salette, Lourdes, Fatima, Medjuorje and at the sites of many more apparitions.
The Sanctuary at Gallivaggio and the stone of which Our Lady stood
The girls message was met with the usual mix of enthusiasm and incredulity but the miracles following at the site of the
apparitions soon proved the apparition to be authentic, on one occasion a child being brought back to life when laid on the holy stone. The following year work began on the first church and just over one hundred years later work began on
the present church, which was completed in 1615.
The parting words of Our Lady of Mercy to the girls are said to have been, “if you do not make works of prayer and penance, the wrath of the Son of God will descend terribly to punish humanity ... Only then He will hear my prayers for your salvation”, sentiments quite alien to our liberal Catholic sensibilities. So, what are we to make of them? Perhaps we simply need to acknowledge that experiences of theophany, and personal revelations, are always necessarily adapted to the
religious culture of the one so favoured with a vision. Perhaps also the institutional church in reporting the details of the apparition added its own theological gloss to the girls simple experience of the Lady. We shall probably never know the facts of this occurrence but we may be sure that this place was touched by something magical and divine as this sense of presence is quite tangible and apparent to the spiritually aware. The many beautiful votive offerings also bear witness to the healing of countless bodies and souls in this place over the last five hundred years.
apparitions soon proved the apparition to be authentic, on one occasion a child being brought back to life when laid on the holy stone. The following year work began on the first church and just over one hundred years later work began on
the present church, which was completed in 1615.
The parting words of Our Lady of Mercy to the girls are said to have been, “if you do not make works of prayer and penance, the wrath of the Son of God will descend terribly to punish humanity ... Only then He will hear my prayers for your salvation”, sentiments quite alien to our liberal Catholic sensibilities. So, what are we to make of them? Perhaps we simply need to acknowledge that experiences of theophany, and personal revelations, are always necessarily adapted to the
religious culture of the one so favoured with a vision. Perhaps also the institutional church in reporting the details of the apparition added its own theological gloss to the girls simple experience of the Lady. We shall probably never know the facts of this occurrence but we may be sure that this place was touched by something magical and divine as this sense of presence is quite tangible and apparent to the spiritually aware. The many beautiful votive offerings also bear witness to the healing of countless bodies and souls in this place over the last five hundred years.
Gallivaggio in winter
Prayer to Our Lady of Mercy of Gallivaggio
O Mother of Divine Mercy, both good and compassionate, who appeared at Gallivaggio, prostrate in your presence I beg you to fulfill my humble and fervent prayers for all my needs and intentions, both spiritual and temporal.
O Mary, Mother of Divine Grace, Mother of Mercy, defend us from the assaults of the devil and welcome us at the hour of death!
(Three Ave Marias)
O Mary, Mother of Divine Grace, Mother of Mercy, defend us from the assaults of the devil and welcome us at the hour of death!
(Three Ave Marias)
Our Lady of Medjugorje, Queen of Peace
Celebrate or attend a Peace Mass on the 25th of each month A wonderful tradition associated with Our Lady of Medjugorje - Queen of Peace is the monthly Peace Mass. Our Lady has been appearing in Medjugorje since June 24th, 1981...her message has been one of love and peace. Her 5 main Medjugorie themes include: Prayer, Fasting, Reading the Bible, Confession and Eucharist. The Blessed Mother appears and gives messages to the world on the 25th of each month - if you would like to receive an email notification of the message, you may sign up at: http://www.medjugorje.org/signup.htm Consider celebrating (or attending) a Peace Mass on the 25th of each month. An order of service could include:
by Bishop Tom Simota
- Rosary 25 minutes before Mass (each month, alternate 1 of the 4 sets of Mysteries)
- Blessing of Marian objects, statues, etc
- Mass, with a homily/spiritual conversation where the monthly message is shared and then all participate in a short discussion about the impact of the message
- After Mass, the Novena of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
- Oh Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke your powerful name, the protection of the living and the salvation of the dying. Purest Mary, let your name henceforth be ever on my lips. Delay not, Blessed Lady, to rescue me whenever I call on you. In my temptations, in my needs, I will never cease to call on you, ever repeating your sacred name, Mary, Mary. What a consolation, what sweetness, what confidence fills my soul when I utter your sacred name or even only think of you! I thank the Lord for having given you so sweet, so powerful, so lovely a name. But I will not be content with merely uttering your name. Let my love for you prompt me ever to hail you Mother of Perpetual Help. Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for me and grant me the favor I confidently ask of you.(Then say three Hail Marys).
- Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
by Bishop Tom Simota
Statue of Our Lady, Queen of Peace on the Hill of Apparitions in Medjugorje
Our Lady of Good Death - Brazil
Devotion to Our Lady of Good Death came to the Christians of the West, through the Christian tradition of the East, under the title "Dormition of the Assunta." Perhaps this is the oldest Marian devotion, which started in the first few centuries of Christianity.
The last half of the fifth century was marked by the spread of an apocryphal literature, that is, written at the time of the facts, but not included in the Bible, about the death and assumption of the Virgin, and the construction of a basilica to venerate the tomb of the Mother of God, by order of the Empress Eudoxia.
This ended up causing the change of the contents of the cult of August 15 for the "Dormition of the Assunta," as early as the sixth century. The apocryphal writings revealed that the Virgin Mary would have entered "Dormition", ie, entered the sleep of death surrounded by the apostles.
Three days later, they returned to the site and found it empty and smelling of flowers. Mother had been "Assunta", that is, had risen to heaven in body and soul. In the seventh century, Emperor Maurice prescribed that this Marian feast be celebrated in all his domains, as one of the most important feasts.And finally, Pope Sergius I introduced it into the liturgy of Rome.
To venerate Our Lady of Good Death was always a great celebration for Christians. She is the primissa, the glorification of body and soul, secured by Christ at the end of time. Previously the service began with the deposition of the image of the Virgin "sleeper" in a coffin and was exposed to the visit of the faithful until the morning of the feast, when it was withdrawn and replaced by the triumphant image of Our Lady of the Assumption. In some places this tradition remained, including the Americas who inherited the cult of the Spanish and Portuguese missionaries.
by Bishop Isaac of St Joseph CCP
Our Lady of Good Death pray for us!
The last half of the fifth century was marked by the spread of an apocryphal literature, that is, written at the time of the facts, but not included in the Bible, about the death and assumption of the Virgin, and the construction of a basilica to venerate the tomb of the Mother of God, by order of the Empress Eudoxia.
This ended up causing the change of the contents of the cult of August 15 for the "Dormition of the Assunta," as early as the sixth century. The apocryphal writings revealed that the Virgin Mary would have entered "Dormition", ie, entered the sleep of death surrounded by the apostles.
Three days later, they returned to the site and found it empty and smelling of flowers. Mother had been "Assunta", that is, had risen to heaven in body and soul. In the seventh century, Emperor Maurice prescribed that this Marian feast be celebrated in all his domains, as one of the most important feasts.And finally, Pope Sergius I introduced it into the liturgy of Rome.
To venerate Our Lady of Good Death was always a great celebration for Christians. She is the primissa, the glorification of body and soul, secured by Christ at the end of time. Previously the service began with the deposition of the image of the Virgin "sleeper" in a coffin and was exposed to the visit of the faithful until the morning of the feast, when it was withdrawn and replaced by the triumphant image of Our Lady of the Assumption. In some places this tradition remained, including the Americas who inherited the cult of the Spanish and Portuguese missionaries.
by Bishop Isaac of St Joseph CCP
Our Lady of Good Death pray for us!
Our Lady of Hungary
Our Lady of Hungary, wearing the distinctive crown of St Stephen
Although the Marian dogmas of the Church were formulated gradually and only considerably over the last two centuries devotion to Our Lady extends back to the first days of the Church and perhaps even before!
Almost all nations have their special experiences and stories of apparitions of the Virgin Mary, our heavenly Mother, apparitions such as Montichiari, Guadalupe, Fatima, Lourdes, La Salette and many other blessed places. These testimonies show Mary in a twofold mystery: in Christ and in the Church. Mary is the first member of the One Holy Catholic Church, the first participant in the great drama of salvation and is therefore the great archetype and model for the emulation of all believers. Mary’s unique place in the Church is first and foremost as mother of the Son of God, and she has therefore a very personal connection with the saving plan of the Father, which is the fountain head of all Christian experience.
The Hungarians have always had a special relationship with Our Lady Mary. The Divine Mother was known even in prehistoric times in Hungary when there were pagan tribes in the Carpathian Basin of Eastern Europe whose religion was of a shamanic nature oriented character. These people honoured several archetypes including the miraculous stag, the tree of life and one key person: Emese, who was the fountain of a living river and the mother of glorious kings. In the native myths of the region the roll of this progenitrix was very important.
The Christianity of the Hungarians connects directly to the establishment of the first state and the first Hungarian king, St. Stephen the First, in AD 1000. Such was his apostolic zeal that he converted the whole population to Christianity, built the first cathedrals and temples and called the first Bishops to Pannonia. After the death of his son, on the 15th August, the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, the king offered the whole kingdom into the protection of Holy Mary. This was popular with the people who saw in “Babba Mary”, The Great Mother of Hungarians. So, in Our Lady of Hungary the former mythology survived helping the people to more easily understand and embrace the new faith.
This symbolic offering was sincerely repeated several times in Hungarian history as successive monarchs in AD 1038, in 1317 and in 1693 and in 1896 for the last time King Leopold I again committed the country to Our Lady’s care. This thousand year old blessed tradition has made the Hungarians not only the children of God but also children of Mary and all Hungarian Catholics see the Holy Lady as their heavenly mother. The evidences of this special vocation and devotion are the several Holy Places and Pilgrimages dedicated to Mary's apparitions, the most famous shrines being in Máriapócs, Makkosmária, Bakonybél, Máriabesnyő, Mátraverebély and many other places, over one hundred in the historical Hungary.
Our God, who has blessed us with countless gifts by the intercession of Virgin Mary, may we follow the example of the King, St Stephen, in the veneration of Our Holy Lady Mary, that we may enjoy your eternal communion in heaven. Amen.
Our Lady of Hungary pray for us!
by Fr Paulus of St Francis CCP
Almost all nations have their special experiences and stories of apparitions of the Virgin Mary, our heavenly Mother, apparitions such as Montichiari, Guadalupe, Fatima, Lourdes, La Salette and many other blessed places. These testimonies show Mary in a twofold mystery: in Christ and in the Church. Mary is the first member of the One Holy Catholic Church, the first participant in the great drama of salvation and is therefore the great archetype and model for the emulation of all believers. Mary’s unique place in the Church is first and foremost as mother of the Son of God, and she has therefore a very personal connection with the saving plan of the Father, which is the fountain head of all Christian experience.
The Hungarians have always had a special relationship with Our Lady Mary. The Divine Mother was known even in prehistoric times in Hungary when there were pagan tribes in the Carpathian Basin of Eastern Europe whose religion was of a shamanic nature oriented character. These people honoured several archetypes including the miraculous stag, the tree of life and one key person: Emese, who was the fountain of a living river and the mother of glorious kings. In the native myths of the region the roll of this progenitrix was very important.
The Christianity of the Hungarians connects directly to the establishment of the first state and the first Hungarian king, St. Stephen the First, in AD 1000. Such was his apostolic zeal that he converted the whole population to Christianity, built the first cathedrals and temples and called the first Bishops to Pannonia. After the death of his son, on the 15th August, the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, the king offered the whole kingdom into the protection of Holy Mary. This was popular with the people who saw in “Babba Mary”, The Great Mother of Hungarians. So, in Our Lady of Hungary the former mythology survived helping the people to more easily understand and embrace the new faith.
This symbolic offering was sincerely repeated several times in Hungarian history as successive monarchs in AD 1038, in 1317 and in 1693 and in 1896 for the last time King Leopold I again committed the country to Our Lady’s care. This thousand year old blessed tradition has made the Hungarians not only the children of God but also children of Mary and all Hungarian Catholics see the Holy Lady as their heavenly mother. The evidences of this special vocation and devotion are the several Holy Places and Pilgrimages dedicated to Mary's apparitions, the most famous shrines being in Máriapócs, Makkosmária, Bakonybél, Máriabesnyő, Mátraverebély and many other places, over one hundred in the historical Hungary.
Our God, who has blessed us with countless gifts by the intercession of Virgin Mary, may we follow the example of the King, St Stephen, in the veneration of Our Holy Lady Mary, that we may enjoy your eternal communion in heaven. Amen.
Our Lady of Hungary pray for us!
by Fr Paulus of St Francis CCP
Our Lady of Glastonbury
To the little town of Glastonbury in the county of Somerset belongs the distinction of being the mother church of Christendom in the British Isles, for it was here, according to legend that St Joseph of Arimathea arrived shortly after the Ascension and Pentecost experience and built a Church and community.
Tradition suggests that Joseph was a wealthy man and a tin trader who on one occasion brought his nephew, the Child Jesus, with him on an expedition to the “Summerland” – and so we sing with conviction “And did those feet in ancient time, walk upon England’s Pastures green”! The poet William Blake certainly liked to believe the old legend.
On another and later journey Joseph is said to have settled on the Isle of Avalon, present day Glastonbury, and “planted” his staff on Wearyall Hill where it grew and flowered each Christmas in honour of the Incarnation. The Holy Thorn, a species of Hawthorn, found only in Glastonbury, still flowers in December and the reigning monarch has a sprig of it on her breakfast table each Christmas morning.
According to legend St Joseph also brought with him to Britain the Holy Grail, which many believe is still hidden in Glastonbury, and having been given twelve hides of land (about 1440 acres) by King Arviragus, Joseph established a monastic community and built a simple wattle church, dedicating it to the Virgin Mary. According to the Catholic encyclopedia in the year 530 St David of Menevia accompanied by seven of his suffragan bishops consecrated a chapel of Our Lady at Glastonbury, on the east end of the Church, and richly endowed it with silver and a sapphire “of inestimable value”. Whatever the true date of foundation, the little wooden Church was considered old when the Saxons arrived in Glastonbury in AD 658, thus making it one of the oldest shrines of Our Lady in the world.
Sadly the original wooden church burned down along with the rest of the Abbey in 1184 however the original wooden statue was saved and installed in the new church built in 1186. Among Marian shrines the popularity of the Shrine of Our Lady of Glastonbury was second only to England’s Nazareth, the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, and pilgrims flocked to the Shrine especially on the principal Feast Day, the Nativity of Our Lady, the 8th September.
In 1539 the infamous monarch, Henry VIII, dissolved the abbey, martyred the Abbot and destroyed the statue but happily the pilgrimage was restored in 1955 and in 1065 the present statue of Our Lady of Glastonbury was blessed by the Apostolic Delegate. This statue was inspired by an image of the original statue preserved on a seal. Our Lady is holding the Child and also a flowering bush, which some say represents the Holy Thorn.
Today Our Lady of Glastonbury is not only venerated by Roman Catholics but also by an increasing number of Orthodox believers and Independent Catholics as well as the many thousands of New Age believers who flock to Glastonbury each year.
by Bishop Alistair of the Blessed Sacrament CCP
Our Lady of Glastonbury pray for us!
Tradition suggests that Joseph was a wealthy man and a tin trader who on one occasion brought his nephew, the Child Jesus, with him on an expedition to the “Summerland” – and so we sing with conviction “And did those feet in ancient time, walk upon England’s Pastures green”! The poet William Blake certainly liked to believe the old legend.
On another and later journey Joseph is said to have settled on the Isle of Avalon, present day Glastonbury, and “planted” his staff on Wearyall Hill where it grew and flowered each Christmas in honour of the Incarnation. The Holy Thorn, a species of Hawthorn, found only in Glastonbury, still flowers in December and the reigning monarch has a sprig of it on her breakfast table each Christmas morning.
According to legend St Joseph also brought with him to Britain the Holy Grail, which many believe is still hidden in Glastonbury, and having been given twelve hides of land (about 1440 acres) by King Arviragus, Joseph established a monastic community and built a simple wattle church, dedicating it to the Virgin Mary. According to the Catholic encyclopedia in the year 530 St David of Menevia accompanied by seven of his suffragan bishops consecrated a chapel of Our Lady at Glastonbury, on the east end of the Church, and richly endowed it with silver and a sapphire “of inestimable value”. Whatever the true date of foundation, the little wooden Church was considered old when the Saxons arrived in Glastonbury in AD 658, thus making it one of the oldest shrines of Our Lady in the world.
Sadly the original wooden church burned down along with the rest of the Abbey in 1184 however the original wooden statue was saved and installed in the new church built in 1186. Among Marian shrines the popularity of the Shrine of Our Lady of Glastonbury was second only to England’s Nazareth, the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, and pilgrims flocked to the Shrine especially on the principal Feast Day, the Nativity of Our Lady, the 8th September.
In 1539 the infamous monarch, Henry VIII, dissolved the abbey, martyred the Abbot and destroyed the statue but happily the pilgrimage was restored in 1955 and in 1065 the present statue of Our Lady of Glastonbury was blessed by the Apostolic Delegate. This statue was inspired by an image of the original statue preserved on a seal. Our Lady is holding the Child and also a flowering bush, which some say represents the Holy Thorn.
Today Our Lady of Glastonbury is not only venerated by Roman Catholics but also by an increasing number of Orthodox believers and Independent Catholics as well as the many thousands of New Age believers who flock to Glastonbury each year.
by Bishop Alistair of the Blessed Sacrament CCP
Our Lady of Glastonbury pray for us!
Icon of Our Lady of Glastonbury from Glastonbury Abbey, Hingham, Massachusetts