Patronage of Nations
Marian National Patronages
– Father Johann Roten, S.M.
Algeria | Argentina | Australia | Austria | Belgium | Bolivia | Bosnia | Brazil | Canada | Chile | Ceylon | Colombia | Costa Rica | Croatia | Cuba | Dominican Republic | Ecuador | El Salvador | England | France | Germany | Greece | Guatemala | Hungary | India | Ireland | Israel | Italy | Japan | Luxemburg | Mexico | Netherlands | New Zealand | Nicaragua | Paraguay | Peru | Philippines | Poland | Portugal | Puerto Rico | Rwanda | Scotland | South Africa | Spain | Switzerland | Syria | Tenerife, Canary Isles | Uganda | United States | Uruguay | Venezuela | Vietnam | Wales
Our Lady of Africa
A bronze, dark-colored statue of the Immaculate Conception with European features brought from France in 1840. It was placed in a basilica and in 1876 was crowned by the founder of the White Fathers, Cardinal Lavigerie.
Our Lady of Lujan
A twenty-two inch terra-cotta statue of the Immaculate Conception that arrived at this site outside Buenos Aires in 1630 under mysterious circumstances. A large basilica was built and the statue was moved to it in 1904. Our Lady of Lujan is patroness also of Uruguay and Paraguay.
St. Mary’s Cathedral
St. Mary's Cathedral (Sydney) whose foundation stone was laid by Archbishop Bede Polding in 1868. It rises from the site of the first Sydney cathedral built earlier in the century but which had gone up in flames in 1865. It is the mother church of Australian Catholicism. The stain glass northern window depicts the coronation of Our Lady.
Our Lady of Mariazell
A l0th-century statue of Mary enshrined in the Benedictine Monastery of the town in 1157.
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Our Lady with the Golden Heart of Beauraing
Five children were beckoned by the smile of Our Lady in 1932-33 who identified herself as the Immaculate Conception.
The Virgin of the Poor
In 1933 Our Lady repeatedly appeared to eleven-year-old Mariette in Banneux. A parallel to Lourdes has been established since. During several apparitions Mariette was led to a spring from which many healings have been reported.
Our Lady of Copacabana
A statue of Mary made of plaster and wood by an Indian fisherman in thanksgiving for her protection. It was originally placed in a chapel near Lake Titicaca in northern Bolivia. Later a large church was built and the statue was crowned in 1925.
The Virgin of Medjugorje
On the afternoon of June 24, 1981, fifteen-year-old Ivanka Ivankovic and her one year older friend Mirjana Dragicevic saw what they claim to be an apparition of Mary. Marija and Milka Pavlovic, Vicka Ivankovic, Jakov Colo, Ivan Dragicevic and Ivan Ivankovic soon joined them. Some of these visionaries receive regular apparitions and messages to this day. The church has not made a final statement regarding their authenticity. The continuous flow of pilgrims from all over the world however, attest to the statement by Archbishop Franic of Bosnia: “The happenings in Medjugorje have done more for the world’s faith than all the pastoral work of the last fifty years.”
Our Lady ‘Aparecida’ (Who Appeared)
An originally headless wooden statue found by some fishermen in a river. It was given a head and placed in the village church in 1719. It was later moved to a new church near Sao Paulo and in 1929 Our Lady Who Appeared was named the Patroness of Brazil.
Our Lady of the Cape (Notre Dame du Cap)
A chapel dating from 1714 with a miraculous statue of Our Lady crowned by papal delegates in 1904 and1954 has become for many pilgrims an oasis of peace.
Saint Mary of the Hurons
Originally built in 1639 by Jerome Lalemant, S.J. as a shrine for the Huron Indians. It was destroyed in 1649 by the Iroquois and rebuilt in 1925 to honor the martyrs John de Brebeuf and Gabriel Lalement.
Our Lady of Carmel of the Maipú
In the year 1785 Don Martin de Lecuna ordered an image of Our Lady of Carmel from a sculptor in Quito. Devotion to this image of Our Lady since has been associated with the struggles for independence of the Chilean nation. The present church was completed in October 1974. In 1923, at the request of the Chilean bishops, the Holy See proclaimed the Virgin of Carmel principal patroness of all Chileans.
Our Lady of Madhu
A shrine going back to the seventeenth century. Both Christians and non-Christians pray there.
Our Lady of Chiquinquirá
A portrait of the Virgin of the Rosary on a rustic cloth woven by Indians. Pius VII declared Our Lady of Chiquinquirá patroness of Colombia. "La Chinita," as her people call her, was canonically crowned in 1915, and in 1927 her sanctuary was declared a Basilica.
Our Lady of the Angels
The image of Our Lady of the Angels is very small, only about three inches high. "La Negrita" (the little black one) as the people of Costa Rica affectionately call her, was solemnly crowned in 1926 and in 1935, Pope Pius XI declared the beautiful shrine of the Queen of Angels a Basilica.
Marija Bistrica
Marija Bistrica as a populated place—was mentioned at the beginning of the thirteenth century. A gothic black statue, representing Mother of Goodness with the baby Jesus, made at the beginning of the sixteenth century was found in the church. The statue was removed because of fear of the Turks. After the statue was found again, many odd things began to take place such as recoveries; many prayers have been granted which contributed a speedy development of the place.
In December 1923, Pope Pius XI designated the church as Basilica minor. The Episcopal Conference in 1971 assigned Marija Bistrica as the National Sanctuary of the people of Croatia.
Nuestra Seňora De La Caridad Del Cobre (Our Lady of Charity)
The small image of Our Lady of Charity resides in the parish church of Cobre. On May 10, 1916 Benedict XV proclaimed her patroness of the island.
Our Lady of “La Altagracia”
Maria of Altagracia wears the colors of the Dominican flag; symbolizing in this manner the national identity. The image of Our Lady of Altagracia , located in Higüey, had the privilege of being crowned twice: on August 15, 1922 - during the pontificate of Pius XI - and by Pope John Paul II, who on January 25, 1979, during his visit to Santo Domingo, personally crowned the image with a golden silver tiara, his personal gift to the Virgin, the first evangelizer of the Americas.
Our Lady of Quinche
Our Lady of the Presentation of Quinche is a handsome wood sculpture carved in the sixteenth century. The image was crowned in 1943 and her feast is celebrated each year on November 21. The present shrine was declared a National Sanctuary in 1985.
Nuestra Seňora de la Paz
The image of Our Lady of Peace depicts Mary holding the child Jesus in her left and a scepter made of an olive branch in her right hand. It is venerated in St. Michael’s Church in the country’s capitol San Salvador and was crowned by a papal delegate on November 21, 1921.
Our Lady of Walsingham
Shrine of the Annunciation was founded in the twelfth century with a chapel made according to the dimensions of the house of the Holy Family in Nazareth. Destroyed in 1738, it was revived at another site nearby in 1934, and its statue of Mary with Jesus on her knee was crowned in 1954.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Aylesford
This shrine is situated at a Carmelite friary that began in 1241, was dissolved in 1538, and was reestablished in 1949. It contains a statue of Our Lady Guardian of the Carmelites and the relics of Saint Simon Stock.
Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris
Magnificent five-aisled cathedral built between the years 1163 and 1320 and containing among other things rich sculptural decorations of the life of Mary.
Notre Dame de Chartres
One of the greatest achievements of Gothic architecture, this cathedral erected in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries is a marvel of sculpture and glass.
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
In 1830 the Virgin Mary appeared in the chapel of the motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity located in Paris at Rue de Bac 140. The seer, Catherine Labouré, encountered the Blessed Virgin standing on a terrestrial globe; her arms extended downward and from her open hands streamed bright rays of light. Round about this scene, Catherine could read the words ‘Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you’. Here lies the origin of the Miraculous Medal.
Our Lady of La Salette
On September 19, 1846 a ‘Beautiful Lady’ appeared to two children who were grazing sheep near La Salette in the French Alps. The Lady was weeping and addressing the children in their French dialect. The children saw the crucifix on the Lady’s chest, which was surrounded by hammer and nails, by chains and roses.
Our Lady of Lourdes
February 11,1858, three years after the dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception, a ‘Lady in white’ appeared to a fourteen-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubirous. During her eighteen apparitions Bernadette received several messages. On March 25 1858, the Lady revealed her name: I AM THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
Our Lady of Altötting
Shrine located sixty miles from Munich in a chapel which was part of the imperial palace in 877, but the image of Our Lady dates back only to 1228.
Kevelaer
Located in the Lower Rhine, this shrine contains a picture of the statue of Our Lady of Consolation of Luxemburg. It was brought to its present spot by a soldier in 1642 and quickly gave rise to a great shrine.
The Holy Mountain of Our Lady (Mount Athos)
This ancient sacred mount contains three shrines of Our Lady: at Iviron, there is our Lady of Iviron; at Khilandar, the Three-handed Virgin; and at Vatopedi, the Consoling Virgin.
Our Lady of the Rosary
La Virgen del Rosario is venerated in the country’s capitol Guatemala City. Her image was solemnly crowned on January 28, 1934 and proclaimed Queen of Guatemala.
Our Lady of Györ
The picture best known as the Irish Madonna is venerated in the cathedral at Györ. It shows Our Lady kneeling beside her child asleep. Both, mother and child wear crowns.
The Virgin of Máriapōcs
This image is treasured and venerated by Hungarians of the Byzantine rite, people of Ruthenia who form the eparchy of Hajdudorog. The original of the image, Our Lady of Tears, is in St. Stephen's Basilica at Vienna, Austria.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Vailankanni
Our Lady of Good Health, popularly called "Our Lady of Vailankanni," resides in the small town of Vailankanni located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. A strong oral tradition attests to Our Lady's apparitions at Vailankanni.
Our Lady of Bandel
Located in Bengal this shrine houses a statue of Our Lady of Safe Travel.
Our Lady of Bandra
A statue of Our Lady of the Mount is venerated here. The image was crowned in 1954 when its church was also declared a minor basilica.
Our Lady of Knock
On August 21,1879 Mary appeared at the south gable of the wall of the village chapel. The vision lasted two hours and was seen by fifteen people. According to their description, Our Lady was clothed in white garments and wore a large crown on her head. On her right side was St. Joseph and on her left stood St. John the Evangelist. To the left of St. John was an altar on which stood a cross and a lamb about eight weeks old. No words were spoken during the apparition.
Our Lady of Limerick
A statue of Mary and her Child made in Flanders about 1622 and given to the Rosary Confraternity of Limerick. Since 1816 it has been housed in the Dominican church in Limerick, and it was crowned in 1954.
Basilica of the Annunciation
In the crypt can be seen vestiges of the first Byzantine church, which was superseded by the large church of the Crusaders. The little Grotto of the Annunciation bears a Greek graffito: Khaire Maria (Hail Mary).
Basilica of the Nativity
This is the only church in Palestine, which has preserved its original architecture: the columns of Constantine (325) and the triloate apse of Justinian (540).
Church of the Dormition
Christians gave the name dormition to the passing of the Virgin Mary from this world to heaven. Byzantine tradition places the occurrence not far from the Cenacle. The Benedictines who also are its guardians rebuilt the present Basilica in 1898.
Church of the Visitation
Ain Karim is a village located in the hill country of Judea about five miles southwest of Jerusalem. The village was the home of Zachary and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist. A large yet unpretentious church is surrounded by a terrain, which makes it possible to meditate on the event of the Visitation undisturbed.
Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Rome)
This is the third of the Roman patriarchal basilicas; it was founded in 366 and dedicated to Mary in 435. It houses the ‘most celebrated icon’ of Our Lady “Salus Populi Romani” (Health of the Roman People) which is attributed to St. Luke.
Holy House of Loreto
According to an ancient tradition, the Holy House – where the Word became flesh – arrived on the hill of Loreto in the thirteenth century. The appearance of the Holy House of Loreto was identical to the House of the Holy Family, which was missing from its place of enshrinement in the basilica at Nazareth.
Madonna of Saint Luke
Found in the chapel of the Church of Saint Mary Major in Bologna, this ancient image is venerated as Our Lady of Rome and is probably the most well known of the images attributed to Saint Luke.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Rome)
Found at the Church of Saint Alphonsus, this shrine possesses one of the most famous Marian paintings, a fourteenth-century icon made on walnut wood and possibly stemming from Crete.
Our Lady of the Rosary (Pompeii)
The basilica of Our Lady of Pompeii was consecrated in May 1891. It houses the portrait of Our Lady of the Rosary in a golden frame.
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Our Lady of Tears (Syracuse)
Between August 29 and September 1, 1953, tears flowed several times from the eyes of a plaster-cast image depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Episcopal Conference of Sicily expressed a desire for a shrine to perpetuate the memory of the prodigy. The crypt was opened on August 28, 1968. It hosts the original image from which the tears flowed.
Our Lady of Japan
This shrine in Nagasaki was erected in 1897 and commemorates the seventeenth-century Japanese martyrs. It was later made a cathedral and remained intact in the wake of the nuclear holocaust of 1945.
The Holy Mother of Akita
The weeping statue of Akita is venerated in a convent of Akita, a center for international pilgrimage.
Our Lady of Consolation
The statue of Mother and Child clothed and crowned is made of oak wood. It is enshrined in the cathedral of Luxemburg. A proper Mass and Office were granted in 1854. A copy of the Luxemburg statue is the center of the shrine of Our Lady of Consolation at Carey, Ohio.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
In 1531 the Blessed Virgin appeared to an Indian native, a recent convert to Christianity who was on his way to catechetical instruction. Juan Diego, the name of the seer, reported the apparition to his local bishop who at first did not believe him. In a subsequent apparition Juan Diego asked the Lady for a sign. She told him to pick roses at the site of the apparition. Juan filled his cloak with the roses and when he unrolled it to show them to the bishop the image of Our Lady was seen imprinted on the cloak. Ever since then, this image has been venerated by the Mexican people.
Star of the Sea
The tenth-century cathedral in the city of Maastricht is the most famous Marian shrine in the Netherlands and houses a relic traditionally accepted as a fragment of Our Lady’s sash.
The Shrine to Mary, Mother of All
It was built in 1901 in the city of Otaki. Its grotto, modeled on that at Lourdes dates from 1905. Close by is a fourteen-meter tall statue of the Immaculate Conception which was erected during the centennial of Our Lady’s appearance to Bernadette in Lourdes (1958).
Our Lady del Viejo
The Sanctuary of Our Lady under the title of the Immaculate Conception of El Viejo, is located in the small village of "El Viejo" clustered around a Franciscan mission of the early colonial period, and situated very near the Pacific coast.
Nuestra Señora de Caacupé
At the end of the sixteenth century a converted Indian carved an image of the Blessed Mother from the same trunk of the tree that had saved him during an excursion in the mountains. In the year 1603 Lake Taaicuá flooded the Valley of Pirayú and swept away the image of the Blessed Mother. When the waters receded, the image appeared miraculously. The villagers started to invoke the Blessed Mother and to spread the devotion of "The Blessed Mother of the Miracles." A devoted man from the area who was a carpenter made a humble shrine for the image, and that is how the cult to the Blessed Mother of Caacupé was started.
Nuestra Señora de la Evangelización
According to tradition based on the oldest chronicles, the image of Our Lady of the Evangelization was a gift to the newly-created Diocese of Lima by Emperor Charles V from Spain around the year 1540. It is therefore one of the oldest images that is venerated in the region. The image has always presided over the synods in Lima that have been very influential in deepening the concept of evangelization in Latin America. In 1985, during his first visit to Perú, John Paul II crowned her and consecrated the nation to her. Three years later, on the occasion of the Eucharistic and Marian Congress of Bolivia, JPII gave her a Golden Rose.
Our Lady of Safe Travel
A statue transported from Mexico to Manila in 1626 and housed in different places. In 1929 it was solemnly crowned in Manila and then returned to its most usual place, Antipolo.
Our Lady of the Turumba
Statue of Our Lady of Sorrows found in the water in the eighteenth century and located at Pakil on the Laguna de Baie. "Turumba" is the name of a song in Mary's honor sung by the people who brought the statue to the church.
Our Lady of Czestochowa
The history of Our Lady of Czestochowa is inseparable from a venerable icon honored at the monastery of monks of Saint Paul the Hermit on Jasna Gora (Hill of Light). In the people’s mind the image is one of the many attributed to St. Luke, carved into the top of a table built by St. Joseph for the Holy Family. The Madonna of Czestochowa belongs to representations of the Virgin known as ‘Hodgitria’, i.e. Mary pointing with her right hand to the Holy Infant held in her left.
Our Lady of Fatima
The famous apparitions of Mary to the children of Fatima took place during the First World War, in the summer of 1917. During the first apparition on May 13, 1917 Our Lady asked the children to pray for the conversion of sinners and to return every month on the thirteenth. On October 13, the ‘Lady’ identified herself as ‘Our Lady of the Rosary’. On the same day a celestial phenomenon took place: the sun seemed to tumble from the sky and crash toward the earth.
Nuestra Señora de la Providencia
Pope Paul VI, by a decree signed on November 19, 1969, declared Our Lady Mother of Divine Providence principal patroness of the island of Puerto Rico. The image abides in the Cathedral of San Juan.
Our Lady of Kibeho, Gatherer of the Displaced
A place of international pilgrimage in Kibeho was built on request of Our Lady who appeared to Alphonsine Mumureke and several of her friends. Mary asked that the church would be a place where the prayer ‘Maranatha – Come, O Lord and redeem thy people’ should be sung constantly.
Our Lady of Haddington
An ecumenical chapel commissioned by the Earl of Lauderdale with a Madonna and child and the famous Adoration of the Three Kings in kilts carved by an artist from Oberammergau. The fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary are embroidered on tapestries.
Our Lady of Shongweni
Statue of Mary Mediatrix of All Graces set on a hill near Durban.
The Tabernacle of the Most High
The shrine of Ngome was built at our Lady’s request to Sr. Reinolda at a place where seven springs flow together. Mary requested to be called ‘Tabernacle of the Most High’ and wants that all of God’s children believe in their calling as a tabernacle.
Our Lady of the Pillar at Saragossa
The most famous of all Spanish shrines, linked to Saint James, and even to the Blessed Mother herself who is said to have placed the statue in its shrine as Saint James rested. Our Lady of the Pillar is the National Patroness of Spain.
Our Lady of Montserrat (Barcelona)
Sometimes called the Black Madonna, this statue was purportedly found by shepherds in the ninth century. It resides in the famed Benedictine Abbey.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Garabandal is one of the most dramatic and controversial of all claimed apparitions of Our Lady and it still awaits official authentication. Nevertheless thousands of pilgrims visit the place where our Lady allegedly appeared to four girls.
Our Lady of the Hermits (Einsiedeln)
Statue of Our Lady that was said to be the favorite of Saint Meinrad who was killed in the ninth century. It resides in a renowned Benedictine Monastery. Our Lady of the Hermits is the National Patroness of Switzerland.
Our Lady of Damascus
The apparitions occurred at the home of Myrna and Nicholas Nazzour. The icon as well as the hands of Myrna oozed oil for numerous times, which contributed to various healings. The result of these miraculous apparitions is that not only members of Christian denominations but also Jews and Muslims kneel together in prayer at this shrine.
The Black Madonna of the Candelaria
The Black Madonna is enshrined in the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria in the town square of the picturesque village Candelaria on the west coast of the Tenerife.
Mary, Queen of Africa
Located at Koboko, this statue was crowned in 1954 and also contains a cross and a crescent - indicative of the veneration paid her by the Moslems.
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. is the patronal church of the United States. The church is built in a Byzantine-Romanesque style. It is 465 feet long and 238 feet wide, with the dome reaching a height of 254 feet and the campanile measuring 332 feet. The entire construction is suffused with Marian themes and Marian devotion.
Our Lady of the Milk and Happy Delivery ("de la Leche y Buen Parto")
Shrine located near St. Augustine, Florida, which was begun in the seventeenth century. A new shrine was built in 1915 and is especially frequented by expectant mothers.
National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows
The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows is owned and operated by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and is one of the largest outdoor shrines in North America. The site blends spirituality, unique architecture, and imaginative landscaping to create a serene setting. Nine devotional areas are located throughout the grounds for all faiths and denominations.
Our Lady of Victory (La Conquistadora)
Shrine begun in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1692 by Diego Vargas, in thanksgiving for his having retaken the city.
Virgen De Los Treinta Y Tres
The small image of the Virgin of the Thirty-Three is a wood carving originating in the missions that the Jesuits had in Paraguay during the eighteenth century. Around 1779 the image was placed in the chapel in the village of Pintado, and later it moved with the entire village to what is now the city of Florida. The image was crowned canonically in 1961 and during the following year was proclaimed officially "Patroness of Uruguay.
Nuestra Senora de Comoroto
The Virgin of Coromoto is a tiny relic that measures twenty-seven millimeters high and twenty-two wide. The image is kept inside a richly adorned monstrance where it is presented for the veneration of the faithful. At the request of the nation's bishops, on October 7, 1944 Pius XII declared her "Patroness of the Republic of Venezuela" and her canonical coronation was celebrated on the third centenary of her apparition, on September 11,1952. His Eminence Cardinal Manuel Arteaga Betancourt, Archbishop of Havana, representing Pope Pius XII, crowned the sacred image of Our Lady of Coromoto. The National Sanctuary of the Virgin of Coromoto, meeting place of great pilgrimages, was declared a Basilica by Pope Pius XII on May 24, 1949.
Our Lady of La Vang
Established in 1800 at Hue, where a vision had been reported, this shrine has become the most important in Vietnam, attracting thousands of pilgrims annually even under the Communist regime.
Our Lady of the Taper
The statue of the seated Virgin was found according to legend beside the river Teifi bearing a lit taper. During the time of the reformation the image as well as the shrine enclosing it were destroyed. In 1970 a new pilgrim church was completed, and in 1986 a new image of Our Lady of the Taper was blessed and placed into the church which has since been designated the Welsh National Shrine of Our Lady.
Our Lady of Fatima
The first church, converted from a ‘fish and chip shop,’ was the first one in the world named after that of Our Lady of Fatima. It hosts a copy of the statue of Our Lady in Cova da Iria.
All About Mary includes a variety of content, much of which reflects the expertise, interpretations and opinions of the individual authors and not necessarily of the Marian Library or the University of Dayton. Please share feedback or suggestions with marianlibrary@udayton.edu.