Our Lady of Czestochowa
Located in Christ the King Chapel
Our Lady of Czestochowa is Poland’s most famous shrine. Legend tells us that St. Luke painted the image of Mary. St. Helen discovered this painting and brought it to Constantinople. A fire destroyed the chapel in Constantinople except the wall where the painting hung. The intense heat and soot blackened the already dark olive features of Jesus and Mary. In 1384, Prince Ladislaus brought the icon to Jasna Gora, (which means bright hill) not far from Czestochowa where Mary appeared to Prince Ladislaus. Our Lady of Czestochowa is also known as Poland’s Black Madonna.
Our Lady of Czestochowa
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes (Devotion also under the title, The Immaculate Conception)
Located at the Lourdes Grotto
Our Lady appeared in 1858 to a young peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France. Our Lady appeared to Bernadette 18 times. In one of the apparitions, Mary told Bernadette to begin digging. When Bernadette did so, a miraculous spring bubbled forth from the site. Many people believe that the spring’s water holds healing properties and thousands make pilgrimages to Lourdes every year. During another apparition, Our Lady asked that a chapel be built in Lourdes in her honor. Today Lourdes has become one of the most famous modern shrines to Our Lady.
Our Lady of Hope
Located in Christ the King Chapel
Devotion to Our Lady of Hope is one of the oldest Marian devotions. The first Shrine bearing that title was erected at Mezieres, France in the year 930.
On January 17, 1871, Our Lady of Hope appeared in the French village of Pontmain. There she revealed herself as the “Madonna of the Crucifix,” and gave the world her message of “Hope through Prayer and the Cross.”
The devotion to Our Lady of Hope was quickly approved by the bishop and Pope Pius XI later extended it to the whole Church. It was introduced into the United States by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1952.
Our Lady of Hope
Our Lady of Knock
Our Lady of Knock
Located at Christ the King Chapel
On August 21, 1879, the Virgin Mary appeared to a group of villagers in the town of Knock in County Mayo, Ireland at the outside wall of the village chapel.
The apparition of Our Lady of Knock is unusual in the sense that Mary did not appear alone but appeared with St Joseph and St John the Evangelist. The three appeared to float two feet above the ground. Mary was praying with her hands raised towards heaven, St. Joseph was looking at Mary with respect, and St John appeared to be preaching. No words were spoken during this apparition. Rain fell the entire time and after two hours, the vision disappeared. Miraculously, the ground below, where Mary, St. Joseph, and St. John had appeared was completely dry.
Our Lady of Fatima
Located in Christ the King Chapel
Mary appeared to Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta in Portugal in 1917 during WWI.
The Blessed Mother asked them to pray for the conversion of sinners and an end to the war. Mary appeared on the 13th of the month May through October of that year. The Blessed Virgin identified herself as “Our Lady of the Rosary.” Mary requested prayers for sinners, recitation of the Rosary and works of Penance. Our Lady also confided several secrets to the three children. On October 13, 1917, the “sun danced” and over 30,000 people witnessed this celestial phenomenon.
Our Lady of Fatima
Oblate Madonna
Oblate Madonna
Located at Christ the King Chapel
According to oral tradition, on August 15, 1822 the statue of Mary consecrated that day in the chapel at Aix opened its eyes and nodded its head slightly in the direction of St Eugene DeMazenod while he was in prayer before it.
St. Eugene DeMazenod is the founder of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Oblate means to give of oneself.
Our Lady of Penafrancia
Located in the Chapel of Santo Niño de Cebu Chapel
The devotion to Our Lady of Penafrancia started in Spain in the 15th century. Simon Vela, devotee to the Blessed Virgin, had several apparitions by the Blessed Mother and witnessed five documented miracles attributed to her. A Shrine was built on top of Penafrancia Mountain in Spain, the location of several of the miracles. In the 17th century, Spaniard, Miguel Cubarrubias moved to the Philippines and entered the seminary at Santo Tomas in Manila. Here, he brought with him the devotion to Our Lady of Penafrancia. Miguel experienced several miracles; and devotion to Our Lady spread throughout the Philippines. A Shrine to Our Lady of Penafrancia was built near the Naga River in the Philippines. As the Filipinos immigrated to the United States in the 20th century, they brought with them this devotion to Our Lady of Penafrancia.
Our Lady of Penafrancia
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Located at Our Lady of Guadalupe Hill
In December 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego on his way to mass. She requested a temple be built in her honor at the place where she stood, Tepeyac Hill, on the Eastern edge of Mexico City. Juan Diego went to the bishop to tell him of his vision, but the bishop wanted a sign in order to believe. On December 12, 1531, Juan Diego again saw the Virgin Mary and she had Juan Diego pick roses to take them to the Bishop. Juan Diego picked the roses, placed them in his tilma (cloak) and took them to the bishop. When Juan opened his tilma, the roses fell out, but in addition the image of the Virgin Mary was present on the cloth. The bishop then believed, and a temple to Mary was built in Mexico City. Juan Diego was canonized on July 30, 2002.
Our Lady of the Snows
Located in Our Lady of the Snows Church and Shrine Visitor Center
The devotion to Our Lady of the Snows began in Rome in 352 A.D. Legend has it that a, wealthy, childless couple wished to help further the works of the Church. After visiting Pope Liberius, he told them to pray for guidance. On the night of August 4, the Virgin Mary appeared to both the husband and wife in a dream and asked them to construct a church in her honor. To designate the spot, she said there would be a miraculous snowfall to mark the site. On the hot, humid morning of August 5, Rome awoke to snowfall on Esquiline Hill. The people of Rome proclaimed it as a miracle and the couple’s prayer were answered. They constructed a church on the hill where it had snowed. The church still stands today and is known as St. Mary Major Basilica. It is sometimes referred to as the original Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows.
Father Paul Schulte, O.M.I. brought the devotion to Our Lady of the Snows to St.Henry’s Seminary in Belleville, IL in the early 1940’s. There he met Fr. Edwin Guild, O.M.I., who founded the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in 1958 at its current site.
Our Lady of of the Snows