Our Lady of Consolation

Our Lady of Consolation or Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted (Latin Consolatrix Afflictorum)[1] is a title of the Virgin Mary. It dates back to the second century and is one of her earliest titles of honor. Comforter of the afflicted is also used as an invocation in the Litany of Loreto.

For other uses, see Our Lady of Consolation (disambiguation).

Madonna della Consolazione, Perugino c. 1497

History
Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture in Manila

The origin of this invocation is derived from the Augustinian friars who propagated this particular devotion. In 1436 the Confraternity of the Holy Cincture of Our Lady of Consolation was founded in Bologna. It was based on an Augustinian tradition which holds that Saint Monica in the fourth century, was distraught with anxiety for her wayward son, Augustine, and that Mary gave her a sash which the Virgin wore, with the assurance that whoever wore this belt would receive her special consolation and protection.[2] Along with Saints Augustine, and Monica, Our Lady of Consolation is one of the three patrons of the Augustinian orders. The "Augustinian Rosary" is sometimes called the "crown of our mother of consolation".

In the 1700s, members of the Augustinian Order introduced the devotion to Our Lady of Consolation to the island of Malta. On 1 December 1722, the Prior General of the Augustinian Order, Thomas Cervioni, issued the decree for the erection of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Consolation in the church of Saint Mark, run by the Augustinians at Rabat, Malta. By this time the custom of asking for the final blessing before death in the name of Our Lady of Consolation was very popular, and the friars were given a dispensation to leave the monastery at any time to confer it. Processions in Our Lady's honor were suspended during the French occupation of 1798 to discourage the gathering of crowds.[3]

Giuseppe Allamano, the rector of the Santuario della Consolata in Turin, founded the Consolata Missionaries, a clerical religious congregation, in 1902. These missionaries brought the devotion of Our Lady of Consolation to Africa.

At the age of nineteen, Joseph Marello, a priest from Turin, contracted typhus. He attributed his recovery to Our Lady of Consolation. He recovered, and in 1878 he founded the Oblates of Saint Joseph.[4]

Veneration
La Consolatrix Afflictorum du Luxembourg in the Royal Cathedral of Luxembourg

The feast of Our Lady of Consolation is observed in particular places, regions, parish churches, orders or religious institutes. The Augustinian orders observe it on 4 September;[5] while the Order of St Benedict is on 5 July. In Malta, the feast is celebrated on the last Sunday of October with pyrotechnic displays by Our Lady of Consolation Fireworks Factory.[4]The feast day is celebrated on the last Sunday of October with pyrotechnic displays by Our Lady of Consolation Fireworks Factory.[6]

Icon

The Benedictines were the first monastic order to settle in the location of Turin. A church at the site, probably dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, stood adjacent to the ancient Roman walls of the city. It is held that in the 5th century, Bishop Maximus erected a church dedicated to Saint Andrew with a small chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The icon of Our Lady of Consolation inside the chapel, which is thought to be miraculous, became the object of great veneration. Meanwhile the icon is housed in the Santuario della Consolata. A star on her shoulder is characteristic of almost all the images.

The traditional depiction of Our Mother of Consolation in Augustinian houses show Mary holding the Christ child on her lap. Both of them hold the Augustinian cincture in their hands.[7]

Europe

Belgium

Pope Pius X granted a decree of Pontifical coronation to a Mater dolorosa of 1535 in the Franciscan church of Leuven. The image, also known as “Our Lady of Koorts or Our Lady of Fever” due to its longstanding claim to heal the sick, was renamed Our Lady of Consolation of the Afflicted on 19 June 1907 by popular demand.

France
Notre Dame du Consolatrice des Affliges de Verdelais

Pope Pius IX granted a canonical coronation to Our Lady of Consolation in Afflige Verdelais on 2 July 1856, now enshrined in its titular Basilica. In addition, Pope Pius X granted a decree of coronation to another image of Our Lady of Consolation in Hyeres in 21 June 1909.

The dioceses of Vannes, Valence, Montpelier, Laval, Nantes, Périgueux, Tours and many others, dedicated churches or chapels to Our Lady of Consolation.[8] Pope Innocent X encouraged the devotion to Our Lady of Consolation by establishing a French confraternity in 1652.

Italy

Pious legends claim that Saint Eusebius of Vercelli brought back an icon of Our Lady of Consolation when he was returning from exile in Egypt in 363. This icon was presented to the city of Turin. Later on Bishop Maximus of Turin established a small shrine to house the icon in a church dedicated to Saint Andrew. The icon became the object of great veneration, and the church was later dedicated as Santuario della Consolata.

The Santuario della Consolata in Rome is devoted to Our Lady of Consolation, too.

Luxembourg

The devotion to Our Lady of Luxembourg, Comforter of the Afflicted, was initiated by the Jesuits in 1624 and led to the election of Our Lady as the protectress of the City in 1666 and of the Duchy in 1678. After the destruction of the old pilgrimage chapel at the time of the French Revolution, the statue of Our Lady of Luxembourg was moved to the former Saint Peter church, today renamed as Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg City.[9] Statues depicting her can be found in niches in buildings throughout the city of Luxembourg.[10] From there the devotion was adopted by the English Benedictine nuns of Cambrai.

Germany
The Gnadenbild venerated at the Gnadenkapelle of the Basilica of Kevalaer, Germany. The banner above it reads Consolatrix Afflictorum, ora pro nobis (Consoler of the Afflicted, pray for us)

Another German image of Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted is venerated in the Marian Basilica of Kevelaer. In 1642 a copperplate engraving, representing Our Lady of Luxembourg, was installed in a sanctuary erected the same year. It is one of the best visited Catholic pilgrimage locations in north-western Europe. Pope Benedict XIV granted its pilgrims abundant indulgences on 24 August 1740, Pope Gregory XVI extended more titles to the image on 14 June 1840. Pope Leo XIII granted a decree of Pontifical coronation on 20 July 1890. Pope Pius XI raised her sanctuary to the status of Basilica in 23 April 1923. Pope John Paul II visited in the shrine in 2 May 1987.[11]

Great Britain
Our Lady of Consolation in Grinstead

The Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in West Grinstead, in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton dates from 1876 and is the first Shrine in honour of Mary to be established in England since before the Reformation. There was in the Church of Saint John the Baptist at Perth, an altar inscribed to "Saint Mary of Consolation".[8] With the approval of the Archbishop of Turin in northern Italy, the new church was affiliated to the original sanctuary of Our Lady of Consolation, and a painting, closely resembling the miraculous Shrine Painting in the Santuario della Consolata of Turin, attached with both indulgences and privileges was brought to West Grinstead. The venerated Marian image was granted with a canonical coronation by Pope Leo XIII in July 1893.[8]

Poland
Image of Our Lady of Consolation above the High altar in Orchówek
Our Lady of Consolation of the Afflicted in Miedzna

A venerated Marian image of Our Lady of Consolation is enshrined at Orchówek. Pope John Paul II granted this image a decree of canonical coronation in 26 March 1987. In addition, the he granted a decree of coronation for another image enshrined at the Church of Annunciation in Miedzna on 5 September 1996.

Spain

A venerated Marian image of Our Lady of Consolation is enshrined at Valdepeñas, Spain. Pope Francis granted this image a Pontifical decree of canonical coronation in 1 June 2019.

United States of America

In 1848, Luxembourg immigrants began to settle in the area around Dacada, Wisconsin. The eldest statue of Our Lady of Consolation in the United States was brought by a Luxembourg immigrant, Anna Margaret Deppiesse in 1849 and later donated to Saint Nicholas Church.[12]

During the American Civil War, three parishioners of Saint Augustine's Parish in Leopold, Indiana fought for the North and were imprisoned at the Andersonville National Historic Site. Former Belgian nationals, Henry Devillez, Isidore Naviaux and Lambert Rogier, vowed that if they survived, one of them would make a pilgrimage to Luxembourg and obtain a copy of the statue of Our Lady of Consolation that stood in their ancestral church. Rogier went to Luxembourg in 1867 and upon his return enshrined it in Saint Augustine's, where it now stands to the left of the main altar. In September 2013, Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin of Indianapolis dedicated a larger outdoor garden shrine.[13]

One of the two main celebrations held each year in the Tacony section of Philadelphia were Our Lady of Consolation’s Feast Day Parade. (The other is Memorial Day.) Each July statues of the saints were paraded through the streets of the neighborhood.[14]

The Franciscan Order also has a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under this honorific title, centered at the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Ohio.

Argentina

Pope Benedict XVI granted a decree of canonical coronation towards the venerated 17th—century image of Our Lady of Consolation in Sumampa, Argentina in 21 November 2009.

Venezuela
Our Lady of Consolation enshrined at the Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation, Táriba, Venezuela.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation, Táriba, Venezuela enshrines a Marian image granted a Pontifical decree of coronation in 9 November 1959 by Pope John XXIII. The coronation was executed in 12 March 1967.

Japan

The Augustinian church located in the Shiroyama district of Nagasaki, Japan is dedicated to Our Mother of Consolation.[15]

Philippines

A venerated Marian image of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture is enshrined at the San Agustin Church of Manila. Pope John Paul II granted this image a Pontifical decree of canonical coronation in 4 September 2000 for the Great Jubilee of his Pontificate.

References
  1. "Our Lady of Consolation – Conventual Franciscan Friars". franciscansusa.org.
  2. Roten S.M., Johann. "Our Lady of Consolation", International Marian Research Institute Home : University of Dayton
  3. "Schembri, Henry. The Augustinian Friars and Devotion to Our Lady in the Maltese Islands, p. 313, Malta Historical Society". Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  4. "Saint Joseph Marello" Long Island Catholic, May 16, 2012
  5. "OSA : Mary - Mother of Consolation". www.osa.org.au.
  6. "FEAST OF OUR LADY OF CONSOLATION - Visitmalta - The official tourism website for Malta, Gozo and Comino". www.visitmalta.com.
  7. "Our Mother of Consolation". Midwest Augustinians.
  8. "Our Lady of Consolation of West Grinstead - Introduction". www.consolation.org.uk.
  9. "INSTITUT GRAND-DUCAL DE LUXEMBOURG". www.institutgrandducal.lu.
  10. "Our Lady of Consolation". mavweb.mnsu.edu.
  11. "City of Kevelaer - Wallfahrt". www.kevelaer.de.
  12. "St. Nicholas Church, Dacada, Wisconsin". Travel Photos by Galen R Frysinger.
  13. Cornwell, Patricia Happel. "Archbishop rededicates Marian shrine at St. Augustine Parish in Leopold", The Criterion, September 20, 2013
  14. "c". www.nephillyhistory.com.
  15. "Daughters of St. Paul --Catholic Churches in Japan". english.pauline.or.jp.
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