marian anniversaries     may

May 25

Our Lady of Consolation, Carey, Ohio, USA

In 1868, Father Joseph Peter Gloden, pastor of a church seven miles distant, was assigned to help with a new congregation in the northwest Ohio village of Carey, because like many of the Catholics there he was from Luxembourg. Carey's church, dedicated to St. Edward, stood unfinished. Fr. Gloden encouraged its parishioners to complete the building by promising to rededicate it to Maria, Consolatrix Afflictorum (Consoler of the Afflicted), Luxembourg's patron saint. He imported a replica of her statue in Luxembourg's cathedral, which he kept in his parish in Frenchtown while construction proceeded.   

On May 24, 1875, when a procession carried the statue the seven miles to Cary, a little miracle occurred. A storm blanketed the region, but although the pilgrims could see rain falling all around them, they and the statue remained dry the whole way.

Now run by Conventual Franciscan Friars, the brick Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation stands across the street from the original white church. The Shrine celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Consolation annually on May 25, preceded by a novena. On the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, pilgrims gather for a procession from the Basilica to Shrine Park two blocks away. 

Source: the shrine's website, Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, www.olcshrine.com

Also commemorated this date:

Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ten Doorn, Eeklo, East Flanders, Flanders, Belgium. Restored chapel consecrated, 1833. Pilgrimage on nearest Friday
Notre Dame de Grâce, Dijon, Côte-d'Or, Burgundy, France. Image dedicated in Carmelite convent, 1613; former feast.
Notre-Dame, Rodez, Aveyron, Midi-Pyrénées, France. First stone of Gothic cathedral placed, 1277. 
Beata Vergine della Sassola, Campogalliano, Modena, Emilia Romagna, Italy (Virgin of the Bailer). Festa commemorates 1745 apparition.
Mamma Schiavona, Madonna di Montevergine, Mercogliano, Avellino, Campania, Italy. Church consecrated, 1124. Festa February 2.
Stella Maris, Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Church consecrated, 1963.
Virgen del Puy, Lizarra, Estella Oriental, Navarra, Spain. Fiesta with music, mass, theater.
Nuestra Señora del Prado, Ciudad Real, Castille-La Mancha, Spain (Our Lady of the Field). Statue found, 1088. Fiestas August 14-22.
Nuestra Señora de la Salud, Córdoba, Andalucia, Spain (Our Lady of Health). Statue found, 1655. Feria last week of May.
Our Lady of Victory, Lackawanna, New York, USA. Church consecrated, 1926.
 

Where We Walked ~~~ Mary Ann Daly