Every Day In Christian History

 North Africa in the 2nd century AD was part of the Roman Empire and in the 3rd century, under the Emperor Constantine, a Christian.      This was once the land of St. Augustine and remained Christian until the Arab invasions in later centuries. The French re-established themselves early in the 19th century.      There was no Church in Algiers when the first Bishop arrived, and the local population was hostile to the French.      As he had no money to build a Church, Bishop Dupuch went back to France to appeal for any assistance. The Sodality of Our Mother in Lyon had a bronze statue of the Immaculate      Conception that they offered to the Bishop with the understanding that she would be the Protectress of both the Mohammedans and the natives.      It was brought from France in 1840 and enshrined it in the new Basilica at Algiers, where the image was crowned. The Basilica of Our Mother of Africa was eventually built,      and is situated on a height overlooking the Bay of Algiers, att

 Not far from the small town of Dinant, in the country of Liege near a home two magnificent oaks once grew. One of the two venerable old trees fell in the year 1609 for lumber.      The worker who inspected the tree found in the interior a small statue of the Mother of God, enthroned, with three iron bars that served as a trellis.      Apparently, at some time in the distant past, some pious Christian soul had placed the holy image in a hollow of the oak, as if in a niche.      Then, over a period of time, the opening the tree had made while it was still young gradually closed, and as it grew, the tree hid in its womb the precious figure.      To honor the Virgin, the statue was subsequently displayed on the other oak, once again behind an iron grating. In this new sanctuary, the Mother of God was honored with      the title of Our Mother of Faith. Those passing by did not fail to venerate the statue; and there were many unexpected healings.      Graces of all kinds multiplied, and soo

 This miraculous image of Our Mother of Quito currently in Ecuador, is said to date from the first Spanish settlement in the year 1534.      It has certainly been venerated there for a long time and is popularly called by the people Our Mother of the Earthquake.      The painting represents the Sorrowful Mother and in the early 12th century, devotion to Mary under the title of Our Mother of Quito was introduced into England      by the Servite Friars in London. The original image at Quito was solemnly crowned in 1918. On April 20, 1906, thirty-six boys attending the boarding school of      the Jesuit Fathers at Quito together with Fr. Andrew Roesch, witnessed the first miracle of this famous picture of Our Mother.      While in the refectory they all saw the Blessed Mother slowly open and shut her eyes. The same miracle occurred no less than seven times.      Ecclesiastical authorities soon investigated these incidents and finally concluded by ordering the picture to be transferred in

 The one and only “Mother of Spain,” is a black Madonna who reigns from the lofty heights of Montserrat.      The Virgin smiles down from her place of honor above the main Altar of the Basilica of Montserrat. The statue is four feet high and made of wood, blackened from the smoke      of innumerable candles which have burned before her through the ages. Our Mother of Moreneta is seated upon a chair and holds her Divine Child who has a fir apple in His left hand.      The origin of the statue and the manner in which it first came to a lowly grotto in the mountainside is told by an uninterrupted folklore describing its descent from heaven.      The legends date from the ninth century when it is believed the hermits who dwelt in caves kept watch over a tiny Chapel known as Santa Maria de Montserrat.      Montserrat, or “Saw-tooth Mountain,” which Our Mother chose for her shrine is believed to have an intrinsic holiness.

 George Kastrioti Skanderbeg was a great warrior and leader of the people of Albania who fought against the expansion of the Ottoman Empire into his kingdom.      He loved the sanctuary of Mary with a devoted love; and Mary in return, not only made him a Christian perfection, but also gave him an invincible power,      which preserved not only Albania but also Christendom during his reign. There was a miraculous painting located in the town of Scutari.      Our Mother of Scutari, now known as Our Mother of Good Counsel is an image of Our Mother holding her Divine Son.      It was Our Mother of Scutari who had consoled and preserved George through all his trials. After his victories, George went to kneel before the image of Our Mother of Scutari,      thanking her for his success. At the end of his life, physically exhausted from his labors, George sensed that his death was near. He went the last time to visit      Our Mother of Scutari at her shrine, and then retired to the city of Les

 OUR MOTHER OF THE HOLY CHAPEL (PARIS)     At the door of the Chapel stands a graceful statue of Mary. At the feet of this statue the doctors and literati of the day loved to prostrate themselves and their works.      Although the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary had not yet been declared, many believed in it and prelates preached it from the pulpits. John Dons Scotus,      one of the most prominent theologians of the Middle Ages, was among those who believed in the Immaculate Conception, and he very ardently argued in her favor.      One day as Dons Scotus knelt before Mary’s image preparing to champion her sinlessness against the antagonists, he asked her to bend her head forward if she were pleased with his      efforts. The image of Mary inclined her head, and from that very moment the head of the image remained inclined. Upon witnessing this miracle, the faithful championed the cause      of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, praying to her under the title and receiving answe

 In the year 1370, a ship ran into a terrific storm at a spot some miles off the coast of Sardinia while enroute from Spain to Italy. Soon the ship seemed in imminent danger      of sinking and the sailors in a desperate effort to save her, began to get rid of the cargo. When they heaved a certain large packing case into the sea,      the waves immediately died down and the sea became calm. The sailors knew the ship had been miraculously saved and attempted to regain the last crate,      followed it for some time. The case floated away, and pushed by the tides, eventually landed on the shore of Sardinai at the foot of a hill called Bonaria.      A large crowd ran down to the beach when the crate washed ashore. Some tried to open it, though no one was able to pry off the lid.      The Mercy Fathers came and raised the heavy crate without any difficulty and took it to their Church, where it was opened in the presence of a large group of people.      To the surprise of all, they found it

 A wax candle is kept in the Cathedral of Arras, which is held to have been brought here by Our Mother in the year 1095.      There was a terrible epidemic that ravaged the countryside in 1105 and all felt that they were in the clutch of the specter of Death.      There were at that time two minstrels, Itier who lived in Brabant and Norman who lived in the Chateau de Saint-Pol.      They had vowed a mortal hatred, as Norman had killed Itier’s brother. One night they both had the same dream: the Virgin Mary, dressed in white appeared to them and told      them to go to the Cathedral. Bishop Lambert then understood that the Blessed Virgin had sent the two men to be reconciled. The Bishop spoke to each separately and then put      them in each other’s presence and asked them to give each other the kiss of peace and then spend the night in prayer inside the Cathedral. In the year 1105 at about      three o’clock in the morning, the Virgin Mary appeared to the two minstrels in the Cathedral

 St Ignatius’s heritage sparked his devotion to Our Mother which intensified during his period of convalescence following the injury he received during the battle at Pamplona.      Major events in his life occurred on feasts or at sites honoring the Virgin. This feast thus commemorates the birth of the vowed Society and its dedication to Mary as its Mother.      The first Church that the Jesuits acquired was a small Chapel, Our Mother of the Way (Santa Maria della Strada). The painting would come to express the essence of Jesuit spirituality.     The Chapel dated back at least to the 11th century and for a while it served as a funeral Chapel for the Astalli family who owned properties. In November 1540, Codacio,      the first Italian Jesuit, was able to use his influence in the papal court to obtain what Ignatius really wanted: the title to the tiny Church of S. Maria della Strada.      Early in 1541, the Roman Jesuits moved into rooms rented from the Astalli family right next to the

 Beatrice de Silva was born of Portuguese parents at Ceuta and manifested a special attachment to our Immaculate Mother very early in life.      At the court of the king of Castile she was presented and cast into prison by a jealous queen, but by the visible intervention of the Immaculate Queen of heaven,      she was released and justified with great honor. Then she left the court and went to Toledo. On the journey St. Francis and St. Anthony appeared to her and announced      that she would be the founder of a new order. At Toledo, Beatrice repaired a convent of Cistercian nuns and remained there for almost 40 years.      She did not put on the religious garb; nevertheless, she was a model of religious perfection. A few years earlier the Blessed Virgin had showed Beatrice in a vision that      she should wear a habit consisting of a white tunic and scapular with a light blue mantle.      This was the origin of the Order of the Immaculate Conception or the Conceptionist Poor Clares.

This Church was built on the spot where the castle stood, which those of the house of Scheir voluntarily ceded to Our Mother, except Arnaud, who,      in punishment of his obstinacy, was drowned in a neighboring lake. Arnaud Schier is remembered as being the odd son of the Bavarian House of Schier and he angrily      left the dining hall before the meal was finished. It would prove to be his last meal. His parents had decided to give up their castle, which Arnaud had hoped would be his heritage,      for the honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Slamming the door, he wandered into the darkness of night alone, caring little if anyone should overhear his repeated objections.      The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Why did the family wish to give up the ancestral home? Arnaud had forgotten that his chief concern should have been to     seek after perfection. Children will usually imitate their parents after initially watching them and then conversing with them.      The sure

 St. Pothinus, the Apostle of Gaul and first Bishop of Lyon, enshrined a picture of Our Mother in an underground Chapel which is now beneath the Church of St. Nazaire      in Lyons where many Christians suffered death on the Hill of Blood. In 1186, the Canons of the Cathedral started building a larger Church over the shrine.      In thanksgiving for the cure of his son by this Saint, King Louis VII of France made a pilgrimage to Lyons, where he had a tablet set up before the shrine of Our Mother.      In 1466 King Louis XI founded a daily Mass in perpetuity, to be followed always by the Salve Regina, solemnly sung. Vast Pilgrimages came to seek Mary’s aid especially      in time of famine and plague. During the plague of 1643, it was decided to dedicate the city to Our Mother. Instantly all traces of the plague vanished and until 1792,      twenty-five Masses were said daily in thanksgiving. Because the city was spared many vicissitudes during the revolutions the people of Lyons decide

 he miraculous statue of the Madonna is 33 inches high; it is carved in cedar wood, covered with magnificent drapery and placed on an Altar glittering with precious stones.      The Church of Loreto, one of the finest in Italy, has been adorned by the Popes, who have come here on a pilgrimage; three gates of chased bronze give entrance into the holy temple,      in the center of which arises the Santa Casa in its clothing of white marble. It would be impossible to enumerate the precious stones and rich presents of all kinds offered by      kings containing the names of benefactors to the Santa Casa. The beautiful litany of Our Mother of Loreto was the votive offering with which a celebrated Florentine composer,      Barroni, repaid a miracle of the Blessed Virgin. This composer, once lost his hearing and set out on a pilgrimage to Our Mother of Loreto.      There he was cured, after praying with faith, and in his gratitude to the Holy Madonna, he composed, by inspiration under the titl

 During the 16th century an English merchant named Hildebrand was standing off the entrance to the Tague River when a great storm caught his ship and immediately plunged him     into the dangerous waters at the mouth of the river. The ship was in great danger and the merchant, being a pious Catholic, knelt before a picture of Our Mother which he always     kept on board his ship. Soon after he began praying a bright light was seen shining through the darkness and the ship came to rest in calm waters.     When daylight came, the vessel was safely anchored at the foot of a very steep wooded mountain. Hildebrand went back below decks to kneel before the illustration of Our Mother     in thanksgiving, when he found that the picture was no longer there. Since it had been from that direction of the mountain that he had seen the light the night before,     the merchant went on land and climbed the steep trail to the top. There, on the very top of the mountain, amid the dense woods, was his pi

 In the year 1683 a formidable army of Turks invaded Austria. If they could take Vienna, it would open up all of Europe to them. Unfortunately,       all of Europe was not united against the invader. The people were filled with fear and anxiety, From all parts of the Catholic world prayers were offered to       the Queen of Heaven, that she intercede and avert this disaster. Our Lady, Consoler of the Afflicted, did not fail her people. The pious and valiant Catholic King of Poland,       John Sobieski, with an army bravely marched against the enemy anyway. Even though his army was tiny in comparison to the multitudes there was no one else who could come to       the aid of Vienna. When John Sobieski came in sight of the Turkish camp, he ordered Holy Mass to be celebrated, at which he himself served; then he begged the celebrant to       bless the whole army. Full of confidence in the help of Mary Most Holy, Our Lady of Victories, King John Sobieski manfully threw his forces into the co

 Kieff on the banks of the River was the first resting place of this image of Mary. The Apostle St. Andrew had once stopped on his way from Constantinople to Rome.      Waking in the morning to the sights of the heights of Kieff, he was moved to prophecy: “See those hills? On those hills shall shine hereafter the grace of God.” The prince sent       to Kherson for a picture of Our Lady which was painted by Constantine. The Prince endowed the monastery in Petchersk to house the famous picture and here it remained until the       15th century. In 1467 Ivan III, Grand Duke of Moscow built the Church of the Assumption in the Kremlin as a memorial of his marriage. As a crowning jewel of his new Church,       he asked for the famous picture of Kieff. This aged city was both grieved and frightened at the demand. The people rose in protest; they did not want to lose their dearest treasure.       Then the Blessed Virgin appeared in sleep to the prince and told him to give up the picture because

 The Village of Cobre is surrounded by high hills that roll back to the Sierra Maestra Mountains. The village is named Cobre because of the rich deposit of copper.         In the mountains outside Santiago in Cuba is an old pilgrimage Church, “Our Mother of Charity.” In the 17th century, three sailors left the Bay of Nipe to collect salt.         Their vessel was small, so that when a storm arose they were rocked violently on the roaring ocean. One of the men wore a medal stamped with an image of the Blessed Virgin,         and the three began to pray for her protection. The storm suddenly cleared, and the men saw something they could not immediately identify coming toward across the water.         It was an image of Our Mother, the Holy Virgin holding the baby Jesus in her arms. It was written on this small tablet, “I am the Virgin of Charity.” Upon returning home,         the men revealed what they had discovered and told them of what had happened to them. A lamp of copper is kept bu

 After the plague of 1630, which had overwhelmed the city and its territory, the princess Maria Gonzaga, was determined to place herself, her son Charles II and Mantua under the       special protection of Mary. She ordered that the image of Mary should be carried in procession through the streets of the city, and desired that the image be solemnly crowned       in the Basilica of St. Andrea, as the Queen of Mantua. Since then, the Church and the picture painted of Santa Maria were named ‘Saint Mary the Crowned,’ This present shrine to       Our Lady of Mantua was built by the Gonzaga family in the year 1640. This is a miraculous painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus.

 The Village of Cobre is surrounded by high hills that roll back to the Sierra Maestra Mountains. The village is named Cobre because of the rich deposit of copper.         In the mountains outside Santiago in Cuba is an old pilgrimage Church, “Our Mother of Charity.” In the 17th century, three sailors left the Bay of Nipe to collect salt.         Their vessel was small, so that when a storm arose they were rocked violently on the roaring ocean. One of the men wore a medal stamped with an image of the Blessed Virgin,         and the three began to pray for her protection. The storm suddenly cleared, and the men saw something they could not immediately identify coming toward across the water.         It was an image of Our Mother, the Holy Virgin holding the baby Jesus in her arms. It was written on this small tablet, “I am the Virgin of Charity.” Upon returning home,         the men revealed what they had discovered and told them of what had happened to them. A lamp of copper is kept bu

St. Pothinus erected the first oratory where Mary was invoked in Gaul. He brought from the interior of Asia a small statue of the Blessed Virgin,         which he deposited in a solitary and shaded crypt on the banks of the Saone, in front of the hill of Fourviere. He set up in this wild and secluded spot an altar to the true God,         and placed there the image, which was transferred later on to a temple built on the hill itself, where it took the name of Our Mother of Fourviere.         The veneration of the people surrounded this Church and it was a pilgrimage of great renown throughout the Lyonnais.