Marian Calendar February

1 – Baptism of Saint Louis de Montfort, Montfort-sur-Meu, France (1673). Louis-Marie Giugnon was known for overcoming continual persecution, including attempted assassinations, through the consecration of his life to Mary. As a missionary, he founded the Sisters of Wisdom and the Company of Mary. Beatified by Pope Leo XXIII in 1888, he was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1947.

2 – The Presentation of Our Lord, Jerusalem. The Fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, this feast occurs 40 days after the birth of . Once known as The Purification, the firstborn male child was presented to God in the Temple. That same day the mother would be ritually purified. Because of Mary’s virginity she would not have had to partake in this ritual, but she and followed the practices of their Jewish faith.

3 – The Virgin of Suyapa, Honduras (1747). One of Hondurans most popular religious images, it is the focus of an extensive pilgrimage. Thousands from around Central America visit the Basilica of Suyapa, a suburb of the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa on this day each year, to view the statue. The feast commemorates the day the statue was found in 1747. Miracles have been attributed since its discovery. Pope Pius XI declared her patroness of Honduras in 1925.

4 – of the Fire, Forli, Italy (1428). A miraculous icon in northeastern Italy, considered to be the earliest art that can be found of an Italian print. The story was written in 1637 that describes the incident of the fire at a school where the students were taught fervent devotion to Mary. The building was consumed in the conflagration and the print of Virgin and Child had detached from the wall and floated skyward above the flames, remaining unharmed and intact. The print was duplicated and became the region’s patron saint of protecting buildings from fire. A shrine was restored in 2009 in Forli where the image has been housed, but, although ancient, it is not confirmed if it is the original or one of the first printed impressions when printing had just become a form of reproducing images.

5 – Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Port-au-Prince, Haiti (1882). During the smallbox epidemic of 1882, this famous icon was processed from St. Francis Church through the streets to a hill to bless the ailing city. The disease ended on that day. Our Lady became the patroness of Haiti in 1942. In 2009, the Church celebrated the 125th anniversary of the miraculous intervention. It was destroyed the next year by the historic 2010 earthquake.

6 – Our Lady of Louvain, Louvain, Belgium (1444). Housed in St. Peter’s, the oldest church in Louvain (built 986 and rebuilt 1425 on same site.) Carved by Nicholas DeBruyne in 1442, the wooden statue is of Our Lady and the Child Jesus. It was destroyed in World War II and its replica is now on display. Known as the “seat of wisdom” (sadis sapientiae), it depicts Mother Mary seated on a throne with the Child Jesus on her lap. The image is now incorporated in the seal of the Catholic University of Louvain (Leuven).

7 – Our Lady of the Bowed Head, Rome, Italy (1610). This oil painting was found among objects in an old altar in the monastery of Maria del Scala in Rome in 1610. In disrepair, a Carmelite, Dominic of Jesus-Mary, had it restored and kept it in his cell as a place of perpetual devotion. As he prayed that the image be restored to its original state, the head of the Blessed Virgin bowed to his supplication. It was then placed in the church for public veneration. Because of its Carmelite origins, the image is now in the Carmelite monastery in Vienna, Austria. It was crowned in 1931 by Pope Pius XI on the 300th anniversary of its discovery,

8 – Abbey of Our Lady of the Lilly, Melun, France (1244). This abbey of Cistercian nuns was founded by Queen Blanche of Castile, the mother of King Saint Louis IX. The nuns’ focus of prayer was for King Louis’ safety and victory during his crusade to the Holy Land in the 1240’s. The last nuns were forced to leave in 1791, when the convent was looted and converted into cattle pens during the French Revolution. The remains became an historic monument in 1930.

9 – The Virgin of Africa, Ceuta, North Africa (15th century). The statue of the Virgin of Africa is of the Pieta, the Blessed Mother with the crucified body of Christ in her arms. It was sourced back to about 1400, when Henry the Navigator landed there as part of the country of Spain. A plague ended on this day in 1651when the statue was processed through the streets and placed on the city wall facing Gibraltar. In keeping with the vow made that day due to the intercession, the procession occurs annually with a Mass at the Church of Africa. The statue was canonically crowned in 1946.

10 – Our Lady of the Doves, Bologna, Italy. The Pilgrim Virgin statue was touring Europe for an extended time and three white doves surrounded her throughout the travels to its final destination in Bologna. When the statue was installed at the cathedral, the doves landed at her feet where they stayed until the consecration of the Mass, when they flew to the top of the altar, and at the end of Mass vanished. The dove continues to be a symbol of The Blessed Virgin’s plea to pray for peace.

11 – , France (1858). On this day was the first of 18 apparitions of Our Lady to 14- year-old Bernadette Soubirous. During one of the apparitions over the course of five months, Our Lady instructed Bernadette to drink from a fountain which was not visible. Scratching the ground, a small trickle appeared. Within a few days 27,000 gallons of water was measured, and the fountain continues flowing today. Our Lady described herself saying, “I am the .” On March 1 Bernadette’s friend, Catherine Latapie, dipped her dislocated arm into the water and was immediately healed. In 1873 a basilica was built at the site. Bernadette died in 1879 at age 35 and her body may be viewed in an incorruptible state at the convent where she took her vows in Nevers, France. She was canonized by Pope Pius X in 1933. More than one million visitors pilgrimage to Lourdes annually, where innumerable cures have been recorded.

12 – Our Lady of Argenteuil, Paris, France (101). In a church built by Clovis I is believed to be a part of the tunic of Christ (the “seamless garment”) for which His executioners played diced to own. It is told that Saint Helena discovered the robe in the 4th century in Constantinople where it remained until 800. The tunic was given to Charlemagne in 850 who had it placed in the abbey in Argentuil. It was partially burned by the Hugenots in 1567. During the French Revolution the tunic was buried in pieces, and was restored for display in the 19th century. The last exposition and pilgrimage of the tunic took place in 1984, when 80,000 pilgrims visited it in one week. With the assistance of modern science techniques, it is found to contain detailed elements of time and place at the time of Christ’s crucifixion, and also confirms the blood type on the garment.

13 – Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Rute, Spain (1924). Celebrating this day in 1924 when Pope Pius XI proclaimed Our Lady of Mount Carmel the patroness of this town in southern Spain. The image of Our Lady’s head and hands was carved in the late 1600’s by Luisa Roldan of Seville, and was intended to be adorned in a variety of regalia. In 1960 the statue was made complete. A three-day feast takes place annually when the icon is processed through the town and returned to her place at the main altar of the parish church of Santa Catalina Martir.

14 – Mother of Mercy, Pellevoisin, France (1876). Estelle Faguette was dying of tuberculosis on this day in 1876. Our Lady appeared to her for three consecutive days and on the fourth day she was instantly cured. She was visited one more time that year and Our Lady gave her the design for the white scapular with the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This was the last of the major apparitions of Our Lady in France in the 19th century (which included the and Lourdes). The Confraternity of Mary was approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1894 with approval of the scapular in 1900.

15 – The Icon of Simon’s Prophecy at The Presentation at the Temple. “Softener of Evil Hearts”, also known as “Simon’s Prophecy” is the image of Our Lady with swords piercing her heart (similar to the “Seven Swords” image). Evangelist Luke told that the Elder Simeon would not die until he had seen the Messiah. Forty days after the birth of Christ, Jesus was presented at the temple where Simeon took the infant Jesus into his arms. Simeon’s words at that time continue today at the end of vespers, known as the prayer of St. Simeon, “Now lettest Thou Thy servant to depart in peace, O Master, according to Thy word…” He prophesied the persecution and piercing of Jesus by nails and spear.

16 – Our Lady of Sorrow, Sajolpalfala, Hungary (1717). During the Turkish occupation of this area this painting was found to shed blood and tears. It was placed in the Franciscan monastery until the structure was dissolved by the Communists in1950. The icon was lost for 20 years and was returned to its original location in 1973. The weeping icon continues to be a pilgrimage site today.

17 – Our Lady of Constantinople, Bari, Turkey (566). This synagogue for the Jews was converted to a church in 566. By 1640 it was converted to a mosque. Archaeologists in the 1900s have uncovered frescoes of the Blessed Virgin that indicate it once had relics of the mother of Jesus.

18 – Our Lady of Laon, Reims, France (500). Northeast of Paris in the Alsace-Lorraine region is a magnificent cathedral to rival the one in Chartres. Built in 500 by St. Regimius, then rebuilt in 1235 as a cathedral, it contains 16 stone-carved gargoyles. It has much of the original stained glass from the 13th century, including a rose window emulating the Cathedral of Notre Dame, with the Blessed Virgin sitting on the throne with the Divine Child between Saint John the Baptist and the prophet Isaiah.

19 – The Virgin of Campanar, Spain (1596). A suburb of Valencia, the chapel was being restored in 1596 and, after a collapse, workmen found an intact statue of the Virgin Mary. She remains in a chapel in this neighborhood where it was relocated in the 17th century. Pilgrimages and miracles are a continued part of this icon’s history.

20 – Madonna of the Stair, Massafra, Italy (2nd century). On a natural stairstepped gorge wall is protected a chapel to house the Madonna of the Deer since the 900’s. The present sanctuary housing the icon opened in 1737 and was credited with saving Massafra from an earthquake in 1743. Mark and Peter were storied to be here in 102 and the icon has been traced as early as that time. It continues to be a place of pilgrimage and famed site of wedding ceremonies.

21 – Our Lady of Grace, Anderlecht, Belgium (1443). In this year, Pierre van Assche planted a linden tree and two hawthorns on a hilltop overlooking the road to Brussels. He affixed a small wooden statuette of the Blessed Virgin and Child. In 1449 witnesses saw a glow coming from the tree and the pilgrimages to Our Lady of Grace commenced at that time. The next year a chapel was built there, a gothic church was consecrated there in 1531 which was sold at the end of the 1700’s. The statue has survived and is now in the Collegiate Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Anderlecth.

22 – Our Lady of the Divine Tears, Bologna, Italy (1924). A convent founded for the Marcelline order of nuns became a home for the elderly and sick in the mid 1800’s. 27-year-old Sister Elisabetti Redaelli, blind and ailing, was taken there to live in 1922. January 6, 1924 just before midnight she was heard by the caregivers to be speaking in her sleep, when, in fact, she was awake beholding a vision who told her to “pray, trust, and love” and that she would return on “22-23”. On February 22 she experienced another vision at 23:00 hours. The Blessed Mother was holding the Child Jesus who was crying. Sister Redaelli’s blindness was healed instantly. The nuns in the infirmary witnessed the healing. Sister Redaelli retired to Milan to a home for girls and to escape the publicity of the event, dying in 1984. A chapel is in the room marking the spot where the Blessed Mother stood as her Child was weeping “divine tears”.

23 – Our Lady of the Rocks, Salamanca, Spain (1434). Simon Veal was born of wealth in Paris in 1401. Upon inheriting his fortune, he gave it all to the poor and became a Franciscan monk. Devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he believed that she told him to seek “Pena de Francia” to find a shrine in her name. After five years of searching he was leaving Spain in frustration, when, in Salamanca, he observed a crowd holding back a man about to murder his adversary, who shouted that he was returning to Pena de Francia where he will never be found. Simon followed many leads while praying to Our Lady. Finally directed to a specific site, he began digging with three helpers who thought they were digging for treasure. Unearthing a large boulder and many stones, a statue of the Blessed Virgin with Divine Child was revealed, now a pilgrimage site as “Our Lady of the Rocks”.

24 – Our Lady by Saint Luke, Rome, Italy (591). Italy at this time was in upheavel as the Gothic War between the Byzantine Empire and the Goths ruined the country, allowing a Germanic tribe of Lombards to take over. Pagans and Arians were a ruling class. Famine, earthquakes, and floods abound, causing disease throughout Rome where dying was rampant in the streets. The Pope died of disease on Feb. 7, 590, leaving the church in the hands of a humble and hesitant Pope Saint Gregory the Great (Gregory I). Understanding that the plight was chastisement for sin, Gregory called for all the faithful of Rome to repent by taking to the streets to follow behind him as he processed, purportedly with the miraculous image of Our Lady painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. By the end of the procession, the pestilence that had seized the city ended.

25 – Our Lady of Great Power, Quebec, Canada (1673). Devotion to Our Lady of Great Power began in the convent of the Ursuline nuns in France when the statue was installed in 1675. Defiled during the French Revolution, the statue was found and re-installed in 1892. The Ursulines of Quebec brought the devotion to the new world and keep a perpetual candle burning in honor of the favors granted from the devotion.

26 – Our Lady of the Fields, Paris, France (250). St. Denis, the first bishop of Paris, dedicated this church to the Blessed Virgin in the earliest days of the church. A picture of the Blessed Virgin is said to be seen on a small stone brought by St. Denis. It was occupied as a convent by the Carmelites in the 600’s. Widely known as Notre-Dame des Champs. 27 – Our Lady of Light, Palermo, Italy (1702). Father John Genovsi began his missionary work by devoting all of the souls he touched to the Blessed Virgin. He had an image painted of Our Lady to depict the in a resplendent aura of light. The masterpiece was transferred from Palermo and is now in Mexico City in the Cathedral of Leon. The picture bears the authenticity of four signatures, including Father Genovsi’s. Pope Pius IX declared her the Patroness of Leon. Pope Leo XIII authenticated the crowning of the image in 1902.

28 – Vilensky , Vilnius, Lithuania (2nd century). Tradition holds that St. Luke the Evangelist, known as an artist/painter, painted this icon which came into the possession of the ruling class in Greece. When the Ottomans defeated the Byzantines, the ruling emperor fled to Rome with the painting in 1460. It arrived in Vilnius when the emperor’s granddaughter Helena married Alexander, the king of Lithuania in 1495. The Vilensky icon was evacuated in World War I to the Donskoi monastery but was lost two years later when the Bolsheviks closed the monastery. The Holy Spirit Monastery in Moscow preserves a copy of the icon today.