marian anniversaries     november

November 7

Mariensäule, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

When the Swedes invaded Bavaria during the Thirty Years War, they left in their wake a plague epidemic that killed about a third of the population of Munich in 1634-5. To commemorate the victims, and in thanksgiving for the Swedish retreat, Elector Maximilian I erected a 36' marble column in the city's main square, topped by an 8' golden statue of the Virgin and Child. Adam von Gepeckh, Bishop of Freising, dedicated the Mariensäule, Mary's Column, on November 7, 1638, the Sunday after All Saints Day. An ardent devotee of St. Mary, Maximilian had recently proclaimed her Patroness of Bavaria. The column is not only the tourist landmark in the heart of historic Munich, but the 0 point for land surveying in Bavaria. (Information from www.virtualtourist.com and other sources. Picture by Andreas Rieck from “Alter Blog #9, Mariensäule, Marienplatz, München,” blog.schwadi.de.)

Also celebrated this date:

Madonna ta' Caraffa, Valletta, Malta. Icon in St. John's Co-Cathedral crowned, 1954.
Matka Boża Pocieszenia, Biechowo, Miłosław, Września, Greater Poland, Poland (Mother of God of Consolation). Church consecrated, 1677; feast Sept. 8.
Virgen del Río, Tarazona, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain
Notre Dame du Lac, Togoville, Togo. Apparition, 1973, in a canoe on Lake Togo.
Saint Mary, Park Ridge, New Jersey, USA. Church established, 1902.
 

Where We Walked ~~~ Mary Ann Daly