Our Lady of Calais

27/06/2025 by SANOL

Feast June 30

In 1347, for a whole year the town of Calais in France was besieged by the English, who had lost many troops during the siege.

Starvation finally forced the French to consider giving up, but the English King, Edward III, would not accept their surrender unless six citizens of Calais came before him bare-headed, bare-footed, dressed in rough shirts, and each with a halter about his neck. He demanded the keys of Calais, and that these men accept his pleasure, however severe, before the rest of the citizens would receive any mercy.

The entire population prayed to Our Lady of Calais, which had been damaged during the war. Those who could do so knelt at her shrine. This shrine had been built by the English while they had possessed that city, of which they had been masters for two hundred and ten years.

No one wanted to give his life in such a manner. Finally, a nobleman stepped forward and offered his head as a ransom to the English king so that the city of Calais should be spared. Five others then volunteered, all dressed as the king had demanded. When they stood before the irate king he angrily reminded them of the losses he had suffered through their stubbornness; then he ordered the six citizens to be beheaded.

The king’s bravest and noblest warriors pleaded with him to spare the men, but in vain. Then Queen Philippa arose from her seat beside the king, and kneeling before him with tears streaming down her cheeks, pleaded:

“My lord and husband, I have crossed the sea through many dangers to be with you. Let me now pray you to have pity on these six prisoners.”

After a few minutes of deep thought the king declared:

“Madam, I wish you had been elsewhere this day. I cannot deny the boon you ask me. Take these men and dispose of them as you will.”

The gracious queen gave the six hostages better clothing, each a certain amount of money, and had them safely brought back through the lines and set at liberty to return home.

The king, humiliated at his queen’s mercy, spared the town. Queen Philippa was a figure of Our Lady, interceding for these men and obtaining mercy for them just as the Blessed Virgin Mary, Gate of Heaven, will do for us if we make her our advocate before God. From that time on Our Lady of Calais was ever more recognized as the merciful Mother of Calais.

A magnificent chapel was added to the shrine of Our Lady of Calais in the year 1631 by James de Bolloye, cure of Calais.

*from The Woman in Orbit and other sources. www.roman-catholic-saints.com

Our Lady of the Forest

17/06/202517/06/2025 by SANOL

Feast Day 17 June

Brittany is a land noted for its pilgrimages, and that of Folgoet is one of the foremost of them. In the year 1419 a church took the place of a small chapel of Our Lady in the Forest of Lesneven, and it became the centre of a big ecclesiastical establishment, with a famous pilgrim-shrine.

In 1380 there lived near Lesneven a good old man named Salaun or Solomon. He had no one to care for him, lived alone, and did not associate with any person; he walked with his eyes to the ground, but his heart in Heaven.

As the years went by, old and crippled as he was, he might be seen every evening hobbling toward the chapel of the Blessed Virgin where he spent most of the night in prayer after the villagers had returned to the warmth and security of their own homes. He was a simple man of the woods, and here where the chapel of Our Lady of the Forest was later built he slept in the open under an oak tree near a fountain.

Solomon loved to swing from the branches of a tree that hung over the fountain, all the while singing his praises to “Ave Maria!” at the top of his lungs. He begged for bread each day to obtain his meals, and in doing so he was often laughed at, jeered at and otherwise mistreated by the small boys. He was commonly known to one and all as “The Fool of the Wood.”

One day, while the villagers were on their way to the chapel, they found the old man in the snow dying of exposure. They tried to help him, but it was too late for their kindness, as the old man soon died with the words “Ave Maria” on his lips. The fool of the wood had finally gone to his Queen in Heaven. Legend further relates that he was buried in an out-of-the-way place in Lesneven, for he had no family to mourn him.

When spring came, a snow-white lily rose from the outcast’s grave, and on the delicate petals of the lily, in letters of gold, the words “Ave Maria!” could be seen. The grave was opened, and it was soon discovered that the lily had taken root in the mouth of the penniless old hermit. News of the miracle drew crowds to the scene, and a church was built to honour Our Lady of the Forest. The gravesite of the simple hermit can still be seen nearby, and visited even in our day. It is marked by four simple stones.

After a chequered history, the shrine fell into decay and was destroyed by fire during the French Revolution. It was restored by the people in 1818 and the venerated image of Our Lady was brought back and crowned in 1888. The pilgrimage has grown in popularity ever since.

*from The Woman in Orbit and other sources as seen on https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/our-lady-of-the-forest.html

Our Lady of Marienthal

06/06/2025 by SANOL

FEAST DAY JUNE 7

Our Lady of Marienthal, Germany (13th Century)

Marienthal is located perhaps an hour from the city of Hagenau, and is one of the many famous places of pilgrimage in the Alsace region of France. Our Lady of Marienthal has been visited by pilgrims for many centuries, and an old chronicle tells of wonderful miracles that were granted on behalf of many of the believers who visited the ancient church. The benevolent Virgin Mary obtained grace there for all of the afflicted, and when sinners called upon her for assistance they would inevitably find comfort and mercy. There was no pain which was not relieved, no accident that was not mended, not a hope that was disappointed. The crippled and lame could pray there in that time and return home healed, leaving their crutches behind in the church. The blind were illuminated and regained their sight, and the deaf heard again. Mothers obtained the health of their children; young people who had lost their peace of mind through sin found forgiveness and regained their peace of mind; sailors in the dangers of the sea and the soldiers in the bloody battle called upon the assistance of the loving mother of Marienthal, and never in vain.

The church remained open day and night so that the pilgrims at any hour could have access to grace through Our Lady of Marienthal, but this practice also provided an opportunity for robbery attempts. Mary protected her home, and left no thief of church property free to run. As an example, it happened once that a thief was alone in the church shortly before daybreak, and beholding a beautiful jewel upon the altar that had been left as a gift, stretched forth his hand to steal it. As he did so, a supernatural force held him in place until the monks from the monastery, which stood near the church, came and found him later in the morning. He was promptly delivered to the courts in Hagenau for punishment.

When the heresy of Martin Luther penetrated the Alsace, anything that was sacred to Catholics was ridiculed and persecuted as a consequence. Pilgrims were set upon, and Marienthal was threatened with destruction. In many places the altars of Catholic churches were already smashed, and the images of the saints cast down; the same fate seemed about to befall the church at Marienthal.

The devout Catholics decided to hide two miraculous paintings, as well as the statue of the Sorrowful Mother with the child Jesus in her arms, from the predatory hands of the new iconoclasts. They were taken in secret to the monastery for safekeeping. A concurrent document states that the statue of the Sorrowful Virgin shed copious tears while on the way, which was seen by all those present. The statue and paintings were returned to the church once the initial threat had passed, but the pilgrims to Marienthal were much less numerous, as they were often derided by the Protestants, and mistreated as godless blasphemers.

A new persecution broke out in 1569 as enemy soldiers roamed the Alsace and devastated it. Marienthal was also exposed to their devastations to a great extent. At that time a woman named Hochstatter wanted to prevent the desecration of the Holy images, and decided once again to transport them to Hagenau.

“With this intent,” tells the Chronicle, “she came into the church of the Blessed Virgin, ascended a ladder and took the statue of the Sorrowful Virgin on her shoulders and went on her way.” She had acted out of zeal, but the statue of the Mother of God was far too heavy, and her knees staggered as she inevitably sank to the ground beneath her burden. Following a momentary inspiration, the woman knelt next to the image and pleaded with a trusting heart to Mary:

“O, my Heavenly Mother! Please ask thy Divine Son to increase my strength, or else decrease the severity of this precious load so that I may take it to safety.”

After finishing her prayer, the woman took up the image again on her shoulder and easily carried it the rest of the way to Hagenau.

From this time on the church at Marienthal was closed and abandoned. Soon, it was no longer possible even to kneel down next to the degraded walls, as the heretics who roved around in the neighbouring woods mistreated all the Catholics that they could get their hands on. These conditions continued until the end of the sixteenth century when the Jesuits came and awakened the old beliefs and reopened the church at Marienthal. Not only did they return the church to its former glory, but they exterminated the heresy in considerable parts of the Alsace.

But a new storm broke out because of the French Revolution. Two priests and some pious women, working together at the risk of their lives, took the wonderful images from the church, as well as the consecrated vessels and other ornaments of the church, to Ottersweier, a village on the right bank of the Rhine. They remained there until the restoration of Catholic worship. Meanwhile, Marienthal was occupied by German troops who had invaded Alsace. The soldiers used the church as a barracks.

The sacred images were finally restored in 1803 via a triumphal procession from Ottersweier to Marienthal. The clergy were followed by the entire population of Hagenau who were flying colourful flags and burning candles in the solemn procession. The Bishop of Strasbourg celebrated a Pontifical High Mass, inaugurating a day of celebration that is still continued annually on the first Sunday of June.

Since that time, Marienthal is once again visited as frequently as ever, especially on the feast days of Our Lady. The pious crowd rushes to the enlarged and embellished church, whose choir walls are entirely covered with votive offerings. Most young Alsatian and Lorraine soldiers go to the church at Marienthal before they begin their service to implore the protection of the Blessed Virgin. Even today you can see the parents of those who miraculously escaped death in battles and engagements kneeling before the altar to thank God and to read their thanks aloud. Even many Protestants, sensible to the example of the faithful and the reports of miracles that are worked at the site, send their names in secret in the hands of pious persons to Marienthal, asking them to pray and offer gifts for them.

James Fitzhenry, roman-catholic-saints.com, Marian Calendar

Our Lady of Puig

07/04/2025 by SANOL

The fortress and the church of Our Lady of Puig are a short distance out of Valencia; both date from Roman times, when a temple of Venus stood on the hill overlooking the pleasant valley. At the coming of Christians, it was turned into a monastery.

Early in history they acquired the image of Our Lady of Puig, in bas-relief, carved on a slab of marble, which was said to have formed part of the tomb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. How it got to Spain is not known with certainty, though the pious insist that it was brought there by angels. It was the principal object of devotion at the shrine, which thrived and became more beautiful until the ancient kingdom of the Visigoths fell to the Muslim invaders in the 8th Century.

In the year 712 AD the monks sadly buried their treasure to hide it from desecration, along with the church bell, under the floor of the monastery, and fled for their lives. After five centuries the Moors were expelled from Valencia, and the plaque of Our Lady of Puig played a part in its liberation.

King Jamie I of Aragon, victorious in other parts of Spain, moved on Valencia with his armies. The Moors, in an effort to trick the Christians into sending their troops to the wrong place, moved to attack the ancient fortress of Puig. This was done with great secrecy, but Our Lady warned the Christians and helped them to win the desperate battle.

Saint Peter Nolasco, who helped to found the Society for the Redemption of Captives under Our Lady’s guidance, was in Puig when the battle took place. One of the soldiers came to him and reported that when he had been on night guard he had seen strange lights over the old ruined church of Our Lady of Puig; sometimes the stars seemed to come down from the sky and circle around the building. Especially on Saturday nights there were bright lights around the mount of the church.

Saint Peter suggested to the king that all the soldiers should receive the Sacraments and pray to know what God was trying to tell them. After this had been done, he led them to the top of the hill and directed them to dig under the floor of the old monastery. Here they found the plaque and the bell, buried for 500 years, but unharmed.

The plaque was first carried to the chapel of the castle fortress. As soon as possible a new church was built on the mountain and given into the charge of the Mercedarians under Saint Peter Nolasco.

The ancient bell which was dated as being cast in 660, and was placed in the tower of the church. This bell was said to be powerful against storms and always rung of its own accord in time of trouble. In 1550 the bell broke and a new one was cast from the fragments of the old one.

The church built by Saint Peter Nolasco was called “the angelic chamber” because angels were often heard singing there in the night, especially on Saturdays.

Our Lady of Puig has been the patroness of Valencia for hundreds of years, and as recently as 1935 when she was honoured by the Spanish Armies who have carried her image in so many successful battles. She was at this time named as a General in the Army and invoked as Patroness in the Christian War against Communism.

Our Lady of Soissons

26/03/2025 by SANOL

Feast Day 26 March

In this Abbey one of the shoes of Our Lady was believed to have been preserved. It was destroyed during the French Revolution.

In the year 1128, a plague afflicted the city of Soissons, in France. For six consecutive days the victims went to the shrine of Our Lady and called out to her for help. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to them, accompanied by heavenly hosts of angels. Immediately the people who witnessed the miracle and believed were healed. The Bishop asked all who were healed to make a novena of thanks and to kiss the slipper of the Holy Virgin kept in the church.

A rustic servant of one of the knights of Soissons, a man named Boso, came to the church for the festival which was to follow the novena. While his companions gave gifts and talked of the slipper of Our Lady, he gave nothing and scoffed at the idea, muttering, “You are very foolish to believe this to be the Virgin’s slipper. It would have rotted long ago.” At these words Boso’s blasphemous mouth was drawn toward his ear with such sharp pain that his eyes seemed to slip out of his head. A tumour appeared and covered his face, making it unfit for human use. Roaring and writhing, he threw himself before the altar of Mary, begging for help, as he had offended the Mother of God, and he knew there was no one else who could heal him.

The abbess, a woman named Mathilda, took the slipper and made the sign of the cross over the victim. Immediately he began to heal. The punished scoffer repented and gave himself up to the service of the Church of Soissons.

Many – the lame, the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the paralytics, were healed at the shrine.

The Abbey was once the largest in France, famous for its rich collection of relics, including the “Lady Slipper,” but all that remains today of the abbey is a ruined wall with two arches, as the rest was methodically razed by the eager hands of the devotees of the French Revolution.

*from The Woman in Orbit as seen on www.roman-catholic-saints.com

2025 Roses to Our Lady of Guadalupe

10/03/202510/03/2025 by SANOL

Roses for Our Lady of Guadalupe

14 dozen beautiful roses to were delivered to Our Lady of Guadalupe this year on 22 February, Feast of the Chair of St Peter, on behalf of South Africa Needs Our Lady.

Our friends from America Needs Fatima, kindly organised this for us together with all their roses.

Below we share their feedback about the event:

A worthy mention to the florist Dona Ara, who had to source these roses from all across Mexico as the national supply had been depleted by Valentine’s Day. Unlike past years when it was sunny and hot, this year we were graced with cooler temperatures, rain and thunderstorms throughout the day. Yet, as our Blessed Mother often does, she smiled upon us, the clouds parted, the sun shone forth, and the brilliant roses dazzled the crowds of pilgrims making their Jubilee pilgrimage of Hope.

As is our custom, along with the presentation of the roses to Our Lady, we light a candle for each state in the U.S., beseeching La Virgen de Guadalupe, Patroness of the Unborn, for the total and complete victory over the sin of abortion in every state, from New York to California, and from Minnesota to New Mexico. Masses were also requested for the intentions of all ANF members and supporters.

Something Extra

In 1921, a young man named Luciano Perez Carpio placed a bouquet of flowers concealing a bomb before the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The subsequent explosion destroyed the marble altar and damaged a large crucifix. The miraculous image of Our Lady was completely unscathed. Following this event, a great devotion started, honouring Our Lord Jesus Christ under the invocation of “Santo Cristo Del Atentado” (roughly translated as Jesus Christ, Victim of the Violent Attack). This devotion consists of writing one’s intentions and placing them along with a stipend below the damaged crucifix. Many graces and miracles have been attributed to this devotion.

So, we took a moment to entrust all the ANF and SANOL supporters who sent roses to Our Lady of Guadalupe, asking Our Lord Jesus Christ to protect them, just as He protected His Holy Mother.

Holy Hour

After presenting the roses and intentions to the Virgin of Guadalupe, ANF representatives were able to spend a holy hour in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament in the old Basilica for the intentions of ANF and SANOL members and supporters.

The Jubilee Year of HOPE

A special part of this year’s Roses to Our Lady of Guadalupe presentation is that it is a Jubilee Year.

Jubilee years have a long and rich history rooted in religious tradition and biblical precedent. The term “Jubilee” comes from the Hebrew word Yobel, which refers to the ram’s horn used in ancient Israel to announce the year of release and return.

Over the centuries, the Catholic Church began to regularize the practice of Jubilee years, though not every year was declared one. Beginning in the 15^th century under Pope Sixtus IV, the Church decided to celebrate a Jubilee every 25 years. Later, Pope Urban VIII (1625) established the rule that Jubilees would occur at 25-year intervals unless a special Jubilee was declared.

The shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City has been established as a Jubilee pilgrimage site for the 2025 Jubilee Year. We were able to walk through the Door of Hope as we presented the roses to Our Lady.

A Mother gathering her children

As pilgrims gathered at the Shrine from all over the world, it was beautiful to see and sense their unity in the love and protection of Our Blessed Mother. For example, it was beautiful to see a small family of Aztec Indians dressed in their traditional cultural attire to pay homage to their Mother, who so many centuries ago brought their people to the True Faith.

Another beautiful sight was the group from the Colegio Guadalupe Victoria Monclova, Coahuila, that had come from hundreds of miles away on pilgrimage along with about 450 000 other people from different parts of Mexico. It is hard to describe the experience of seeing so many devotees honouring Our Lady with prayer, penance, song and dance.

During our days at the Shrine, we saw many priests, nuns and religious. The devotion of the laity and clergy was inspiring.

Roses were not only sent from devotees in the United States; the devotion of sending roses to Our Lady of Guadalupe is starting to spread. This year, roses and intentions came from Canada and as far away as South Africa. We hope there will be many, many more next year.

Thank You

We want to thank each and every one of you who sent roses and entrusted us with your special intentions to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Without your support and prayers, none of this would have been possible.

We would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Dona Ara and her family team of florists for their dedicated work in creating the magnificent floral tribute to La Virgen de Guadalupe.

Dona Ara and her family of workers who put together all the beautiful rose arrangements.

Going forward….

The struggle to protect the unborn continues; now, let’s end abortion everywhere, now and forever! Let’s intensify our prayers to the Virgin of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, Empress of Latin America, Queen of Mexico, Protectress of the Unborn, and demonstrate our profound desire to safeguard the unborn and end abortion once and for all.

So, if you would like to be one of the first to present roses to Our Lady on behalf of the unborn and place your intentions at the top of the list for 2026, click here now!

Fatima and the Necessity of Suffering

08/03/2025 by SANOL

Nothing great is done without suffering

Two of the three Fatima seers, Saints Jacinta and Francisco, died young because of the need for victim souls to give necessary fecundity to Our Lady’s plan. Their lives were proof that nothing great is done without suffering.

Indeed, suffering helps those souls who are absorbed with themselves and unwilling to open up. We should see suffering as normal for man and we should practice it with courage and daring. The acceptance of sacrifice is necessary to combat the Hollywood myth of the “happy end.”

Jacinta and Francisco died as children by Our Lady’s design as she had foretold. The third seer, Lucia, lived for many more years. What was the reason why Jacinta and Francisco died so early? This was obvious for they spoke openly about it.

The reason was that Our Lady at Fatima asked people to offer up their sufferings. She called for victim souls to associate themselves with the entire mystery of the Fatima Message, and through their sufferings and pains help bring about all the supernatural fecundity Our Lady wanted to give to the events at Fatima. This is exactly what happened to both children who died in extraordinarily difficult and arduous circumstances that caused them much suffering.

Such sufferings are needed because when it comes to the salvation of souls, all great works of God are done with the participation of souls. In general, this is only accomplished with people willing to fight, suffer and pray for God’s work to be brought to its fruition.

In other words, sacrifice is necessary. Otherwise, nothing great is done.

The Importance of Suffering

The importance of this principle stood out especially at Fatima.

Our Lady directly intervened there by performing stupendous miracles especially the “miracle of the sun.” She did this to underscore the fact that Fatima is one of the most important if not the most important message she has ever given in history.

On that occasion and in those circumstances, Our Lady wanted the sacrifice of two souls who would offer themselves up for the fulfilment of the plan of Divine Providence. This clearly shows how the apostolate of suffering is truly irreplaceable and how it opens up the way for the Church to act upon souls.

A German painter once painted Our Lord as the Good Shepherd knocking on the door of a simple house. Afterwards someone told him: “You made a mistake, for the door has no outside knob to get in.” He answered: “That’s true, but it is not a mistake. This door symbolizes the human heart. Our Lord knocks on it, but there is no knob outside, only inside. There are certain souls that open up only to themselves and to no one else, and in that case no one can intervene, they are really closed.”

Prayer and sacrifice are precisely the way to influence this type of person. They open up to the grace and find life when they suffer and carry the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ lovingly. They come to understand how normal it is to suffer. A person acquires greatness to the degree that he suffers. The great men in history are those who bear great sufferings for the love of God.

Clearly, this includes not only passive suffering like, for example, allowing another to strike us. It also means active suffering that is, taking the initiative in find suffering. This can be done by confronting bad public opinion or overcoming human respect. In short, it means accepting suffering entirely, embracing it fearlessly and daringly, and taking the initiative to look for ways to sacrifice for an ideal. This is what it means to suffer par excellence and we should seek to do this.

The Lies of the World

The Hollywood myth of the “happy ending” is a great obstacle to accepting suffering and sacrifice. Not all things turn out well in the end as in the movies.

Not everything is joy and success. Thus, we should not look at suffering as a kind of seven-headed monster that invades people’s lives uninvited. To the contrary, we should realize that everyone suffers and a life without crosses is worthless. Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort goes so far as to say that when a person does not suffer, he should ask for crosses. For a person to whom God gives no sufferings should be wary of his eternal salvation.

All this comes across very clearly in the sacrifice made by Saints Jacinta and Francisco.

In this sense, we should frequently pray to them to ask Our Lady of Fatima to obtain for us this true sense of suffering that is indispensable for all those faithful who want to become generous and dedicated Catholics.

Written by: Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

Our Lady of Nazareth

28/02/202528/02/2025 by SANOL6

Feast Day 6 March

The Shrine of Our Lady of Nazareth, known in Portugal as Nossa Senhora da Nazare, is found in the village of Nazare on the Atlantic coast in Portugal. Indeed, the village is named after this miraculous statue of the Blessed Mother and the Christ Child that was brought to the area many centuries ago.

According to tradition, this miraculous image was carved by the hands of Saint Joseph, the foster-father of Christ, while in the very presence of the Infant Jesus and the Mother of God. Later, the faces and hands of the images were painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. This remarkable image is still preserved in a church where it can be viewed by anyone, and the story surrounding it is a fascinating one.

It is known that the statue of Our Lady of Nazareth came from the Holy Land where it was one of the oldest images ever venerated by Christians. It was saved from destruction at the hands of the iconoclasts sometime early in the 5^th century by a monk named Ciriaco, who gave the statue to Saint Jerome. Saint Jerome later gave it to Saint Augustine in Africa, to protect the statue by removing it from the Holy Land. Saint Augustine then gave it into the safekeeping of the monastery of Cauliniana, near Merida, a monastery on the Iberian Peninsula.

When the Arabs invaded the Iberian Peninsula in the year 711, King Roderic met them with his Visigothic army at the battle of Guadalete, where he was soundly defeated.

It is a fact of history that the body of Roderic was never found upon the field of battle, although his horse was found, and it is often assumed by historians that Roderic died that day when he lost his kingdom. According to this legend, however, Roderic was not killed, but survived the battle and disguised himself as a beggar as he travelled north. Alone and unknown, he made his way to the monastery of Cauliniana where he sought shelter for the night. Going to confession, he of necessity revealed his true identity to the friar, Frei Romano. As it turned out, the monks were preparing to leave the monastery in advance of the Arabs, and so Frei Romano asked the king if he could accompany him in his travels. Roderic agreed, and the friar took with him the statue of Our Lady of Nazareth and the relics of Saint Bras and Saint Bartholomew.

They travelled together until they arrived at a place later named Monte de Saint Bartolomeu in November of the year 714. They made for themselves a hermitage with the friar living in a small cave at the edge of a cliff that overlooked the sea. He placed the image in a niche among the stones upon a pedestal of simple rocks. Roderic went a little ways off by himself to a hill where he also began to live the life of a hermit. After a year, though, King Roderic left the hermitage, and nothing else is said of him in this legend. One wonders if he ever learned of his kinsman Pelayo, who had retreated into the mountains and continued to heroically defy the invaders.

Before his death, Frei Romano hid the image in his small cave, where it remained undisturbed for some centuries until it was discovered by shepherds, who came there to venerate the statue. Inside that little, ancient sanctuary they had found the renowned and sacred image of Our Lady of Nazareth. Carved of wood, it was unlike any other statue of the Madonna they had ever seen, for it depicts the Blessed Virgin breastfeeding her Divine Child while seated upon a simple bench. When miracles began to frequently occur, it became a major pilgrimage centre.

Then, in the early morning of September 14^thin the year 1182, the mayor of Porto de Mos, Dom Fuas Roupinho, was hunting on his land when he observed a deer. Chasing it up a steep slope on horseback that misty morning, the fog became heavier all of a sudden. The deer, later suspected to be the devil in the guise of a deer, jumped off the edge of the hilltop into the empty void. Despite his efforts to stop his horse, the spirited mount was determined to follow after the deer. Helpless to save himself, the rider suddenly recognized that he was near the sacred grotto where he would often come to pray. Fuas Roupinho cried out to the Blessed Virgin, praying aloud: “Our Lady, Help Me!”

The horse stopped immediately, as if he were digging his hooves into the rocky cliff above the void. Suspended in an unnatural manner at the edge of the cliff, Fuas Rouphinho knew the drop to be over 100 meters, and surely would mean his death if he had fallen.

He was then able to back slowly away from the edge, looking down to see the evidence of the impossible and unimaginable – for there in the hard stone was the imprint of one of his horse’s hooves. One of those marks can still be seen in the native rock.

Faus Rouphinho dismounted and went to the grotto to pray and give thanks, subsequently causing a chapel ‘Capela da Memoria,’ or ‘The Chapel of Remembrance,’ to be built very near the spot where his life had been miraculously saved.

When the masons he had hired took apart the primitive altar in the cave, they found an ivory box of sorts that contained the relics of Saint Bras and Saint Bartholomew. There was also an ancient scroll that they carefully removed.

Opening the scroll, they found that it explained the history of the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Divine Child, now known as Our Lady of Nazareth, as outlined above.

The church Santuario de Nossa Senhora da Nazare was later built on the hilltop overlooking Nazare by King Ferdinand I of Portugal in the year 1377. Its construction was necessary due to the large number of pilgrims who continued to come to venerate the image. Over the years it was often rebuilt, or had additions made, especially in the 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th centuries. The profusely decorated and gilded apse displays the statue of Nossa Senhora da Nazare in a lighted niche above the main altar, flanked by twisted columns.

The first King of Portugal, Don Afonso Henriques, as well as the chief nobles of his court, were among the early pilgrims to the shrine. Many notable figures came to visit Our Lady of Nazareth throughout history, including Vasco de Gama, who came as a pilgrim before setting out for India, and Pedro Alvares Cabral, who later discovered Brazil. St Francis Xavier, the Apostle of the East, went on pilgrimage to Our Lady of Nazareth before later leaving for Goa.

According to a plaque placed in the chapel in 1623, the image was carved by Saint Joseph in Galilee when Jesus was a baby. Some decades later St Luke the Evangelist painted the faces and hands of the images. It remained in Nazareth until brought by the Greek monk Ciriaco to the Iberian Peninsula. It is believed to be one of the oldest images venerated by Christians.

Photo courtesy of Georges Jansoone

Our Lady of the Vine

10/03/202528/02/2025 by SANOL6

Feast day 10 March

At one time in Viterbo there was a certain man named Mastro Baptist Magnano Iuzzante, who was a very God-fearing devotee of the glorious Virgin Mary. He hired a painter named Monetto in the year 1417 to paint an image on a tile of the most glorious Virgin Mary holding her Son in her arms. Mastro Baptist then lovingly laid the tile on an oak tree that stood at the edge of his vineyard, near the road leading to Bagnaia and along which robbers often awaited to attack unwary travellers.

The image remained there for about 50 years under cover of the oak’s branches, and after a while only a few women who passed by ever stopped to say a prayer and to admire the beauty of a natural tabernacle that a wild vine, which had embraced the oak, had created.

During this period a hermit of Siena, Pier Domenico Alberti, whose hermitage was at the foot of Palanzana, went around the countryside and the nearby towns of Viterbo, saying, “Among Bagnaia and Viterbo there is a treasure.”

Many people, driven by greed, started digging there but found nothing and asked for an explanation from the hermit. Domenico then brought them under the oak tree chosen by the Virgin and pointed to the real treasure, the Madonna. He told them of the day he had decided to take away the sacred image to his hermitage, and of how it had returned to the oak.

Dominico was not alone in this experience. A devout woman named Bartolomea often walked past the oak tree and stopped each time to pray to the Blessed Virgin. One day she also decided to take the tile to her home. After saying her evening prayers, Bartolomea went to bed, but woke up in the morning to find the image missing. She at first thought that her family had taken it to place it somewhere else, but upon learning that this was not so, she ran to the oak tree and saw what he had already guessed: the tile had miraculously returned to its place amid the tendrils of the vine.

Bartolomea tried again, but always the sacred image returned to the tree. At first, she did not say anything to anyone to avoid being taken for being mad.

Then, in 1467, during the month of August, the whole region was struck by the greatest scourge of those times: the plague. Everywhere there were the bodies of the dead lying in the deserted streets, and there was everywhere great weeping and mourning. Some then remembered the image painted on the humble tile, and, as if driven by an inexplicable force, went to kneel beneath the oak. Nicholas of Tuccia, an historian, said that on one day 30 000 people were there to beg for mercy.

A few days later the plague ceased, and then 40 000 of the faithful came back to thank the Virgin Mary. The people of Viterbo were headed by their bishop Pietro Gennari, and there were many from other regions.

In early September of the same year another extraordinary event happened.

A good knight of Viterbo had many enemies, as will often happen to a follower of Christ. One day he was surprised by his enemies outside the walls of Viterbo. Alone and unarmed, and having no way to deal with the mortal danger, he fled into the nearby woods. Fatigued and desperate to reach his destination, the knight heard the cries of the enemy draw nearer and nearer. Eventually he arrived at the oak with the sacred image of Mary, where he fell at her feet with great faith and embraced the trunk of the tree, putting his life into the hands of his Heavenly Mother.

The knight’s enemies reached the oak, but were surprised that they could no longer see the knight. They began to look behind every tree and bush, but not one could see him since he had disappeared before their very eyes. Failing to find him after a long time spent in searching, they gave up in disgust.

Then the knight, after thanking the Virgin Mary, returned to Viterbo and told everyone what had happened. Bartolomea heard his tale, and encouraged by his words, she described the miracles to which she had been a witness. They told everyone what had happened to them with so much enthusiasm, faith that devotion that the stories spread like wildfire, and many people, coming from the most diverse regions of Italy, flocked to the feet of the oak to implore help from the Blessed Virgin.

It was decided to build an altar, and then a chapel of planks before Pope Paul II gave the necessary permission to build a small church in 1467. Many popes and saints have been devotees of the image, including St Charles Borromeo, St Paul of the Cross, St Ignatius Loyola, Saint Crispin of Viterbo, and St Maximilian Kolbe, among many others.

On 20 January 1944, during the bombing of Viterbo, a squadron of 12 bombers headed towards the oak, but upon arriving at their destination, inexplicably veered to the right and the bombs dropped did not destroy anything outside of an asylum which was empty. The remains of the bombs, 3 large chunks, are kept behind the altar of the Madonna.

In 1986, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Our Lady of the Oak, Patroness of the new diocese of Viterbo, formed from the union of those of Viterbo, Tuscania, Montefiascone, Acquapendente and Bagnoregio.

Even today the Virgin protects her devotees, and the devotion to the Blessed Virgin of the Oak is very strong.

Every year on the second Sunday of September, the faithful commemorate the “Benefits from the Sacred Image of Our Lady of the Oak, or Our Lady of the Vine.” Many cities and towns, with their brotherhoods, participate in the procession of thanksgiving, called the “Covenant of Love. ” The Mayor of Viterbo, on behalf of all participants, renews the consecration made of old by the whole region back in 1467.

Our Lady of the Star

28/02/202527/02/2025 by SANOL6

Feast Day 7 March

In the year 1050 there were two Benedictine monks who lived in the convent of Monte Cassino. They decided to go on pilgrimage, teaching and catechizing all those they met along the way.

One night they found themselves wandering on the coast of Normandy, France, near a place called Grand Champ. Tired and sleepy, they decided to spend the night on the beach under the stars. Father Rogerio slept on the cool sand and the other monk found himself a place to rest in a small boat nearby.

As the night went on the tide came up and the little boat was gently drawn out onto the sea. Without realizing it, the monk was going on an adventure in which he would not awaken until he was just off the coast of England.

In Salisbury, England, everyone was amazed to see the monk in the little boat, convinced that it was a miracle that he had crossed the French Sea in a small boast and lived to see the shores of England. Soon, the monk was made Bishop and his period in office was marvellous to the people because he was a humble man of prayer who sacrificed everything in the name of God.

The monk who had stayed on the beach, Father Rogerio, knew nothing of what had happened to his friend. All he knew was that he and the boat had disappeared, and giving his concerns into the hands of God, he determined to continue on his journey alone.

One night not long afterward, Father Rogerio went to sleep and had a dream that would change his life forever. In his dream he saw a great star fall from the sky, burning all the bushes and trees, and heard a voice that said: “Our Lady wants a church built in this place.”

When he awoke, Father Rogerio looked about himself. He was not injured, but this indeed was the place he had seen in his dream, for everything around him was burned. Father understood that Our Lady really did desire that he should build a church there in her honour. He also felt in his heart the desire to give Mary the title of “Our Lady of the Star,” because of the star he had seen in his dream.

Due to the poverty of those who inhabited that region, Father Rogerio was only able to build a small altar and a tiny chapel which would be the seed of the great Abbey of Our Lady of the Star of Monteburgo. One day an immense chapel would be built, sheltering not only the Church but a very large convent as well.

King William, who was the Duke of Normandy and he who had conquered England, learning of the shrine of Our Lady of the Star, sent his private doctor to visit the little chapel to find out for himself how it had all come about. Upon arriving there, the doctor discovered that he was the brother of the monk Rogerio! He listened to his brother’s account of how he had been separated from his friend, and then told about his dream. The doctor believed everything at once, and to Father Rogerio’s surprise, the doctor knew the monk who had crossed the channel in a small boat and informed his brother that his lost friend had become the Bishop of Salisbury! The two brothers excitedly thanked Our Lady for providing this reunion.

The Bishop of Salisbury, our former friend of the monk Rogerio, asked King William to help his brother in the faith, for they were both blessed by Our Lady on their pilgrimage.

William the Conqueror, with a glad heart, donated to Father Rogerio the entire region of Monteburg, along with the resources to build a great church and an Abbey there that became a great seminary. The work was finished by the son of King William, King Henry. He, taking the throne, continued the work until its completion. The Abbey of Our Lady of the Star was, for many centuries, a centre of reference of the Church for the whole region.

Dark centuries ensued, and the church and abbey suffered a decline until in 1842, the Vicar General of Coutances took possession of what was by that time little more than an enclosure of ruins. He turned it over to the Brothers of Mercy, a new order meant to promote Catholic education. The abbey church was rebuilt, but as time went on the Brothers of Mercy also left, and all is now used as part of an agricultural school. As for Our Lady of the Star, it is a story almost completely forgotten, even to Catholics.

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