Our Lady of Peace | |
|---|---|
 A statue of Our Lady of Peace stands in the courtyard of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawaii. | |
| Mother of Peace, Queen of Peace | |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Majorshrine | Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace,Hawaii |
| Feast | 9 July, January 24 |
| Attributes | Blessed Virgin Mary,Infant Jesus, olive branch, dove |
| Patronage | Peace,Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary,El Salvador,Maine,Hawaii |
Our Lady of Peace,Mother of Peace,Queen of Peace orOur Lady Queen of Peace is atitle of theBlessed Virgin Mary in theRoman Catholic Church. She is represented in art holding adove and anolive branch, symbols ofpeace. Her officialmemorial in theGeneral Roman Calendar is on July 9 in the universal Church except for some churches in the United States, where it is kept on January 24.
In 1482,Pope Sixtus IV commissioned the construction of the church ofSanta Maria della Pace on the foundations of the old Sant'Andrea de Aquarizariis.
There are many papal encyclicals asking Mary to intercede for peace. During the troubled years ofWorld War I,Pope Benedict XV added Our Lady of Peace to theLitany of Loreto.
The traditional story holds that in the early 1500s in France, a certain Jean de Joyeuse presented the statue as a wedding gift to his young bride, Françoise e Voisins. The statue was known as the "Virgin of Joyeuse", and became a cherished family heirloom.[1]
Around the year 1588, Jean's grandson, Henri Joyeuse, joined theCapuchin Franciscans in Paris and brought the statue with him, where it remained for the next 200 years. With the olive branch in her hand and thePrince of Peace on her arm, the statue was calledNotre Dame de Paix (Our Lady of Peace). In 1657 the Capuchin community erected a larger chapel to accommodate the growing number of faithful who sought her intercession. On July 9 that year, before a large crowd which includedKing Louis XIV, thepapal nuncio to France blessed and solemnly enthroned the Virgin's statue.Pope Alexander VII would later designate this date for the Capuchin community to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Peace.[1]
During theFrench Revolution, which erupted in 1789, the Capuchins were driven from their monastery. They took the image with them to prevent its destruction by the ransacking rebels. When peace was restored in the land, the statue was brought out of hiding and entrusted toPeter Coudrin, a priest in Paris. In 1800, Coudrin andHenriette Aymer de Chevalerie became co-founders of a community of sisters, brothers and priests – theCongregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The members were also known more simply as thePicpus Fathers or Sacred Hearts religious. Coudrin gave the statue to Mother Aymer, who enshrined it in a convent chapel in the Picpus district of Paris on May 6, 1806.
Excluding its pedestal, the figure of dark hardwood is 11 inches tall, and is fashioned in the Renaissance style of the period. Mary is depicted as a dignified matron, with the Christ Child on her left arm and an olive branch in her right hand.[1]
The earliest Catholic settlers in this area had no local services and had to travel to Kingston for their Easter Communion. By 1826, Catholic families were numerous enough to support their own pastor; in 1827, Father James Campion, whose parish extended from Toronto to Windsor, was made pastor. He was succeeded by Father Edward Gordon, who erected churches in a number of communities in his parish, including Our Lady of Peace at Falls View. This church, originally known as St. Edward's Church, was completed on June 13, 1837, and was dedicated to St. Edward, the patron saint of priests. In 1858, the Catholic community in the area had grown so large that St. Edward's was declared a separate parish, and Father Victor Juhel was appointed its first pastor. A frame addition was added to the west end of the structure in 1860, the same year that Archbishop John Joseph Lynch of Toronto purchased 200 acres of land surrounding the church. Included in that purchase was the land which he would deed to the Loretto Nuns for construction of the Loretto Academy.
On March 1st, 1861, Pope Pius IX decreed the church a place of pilgrimage, and its name was changed from St. Edward's to Our Lady of Peace. In 1875, the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace was placed under the care of the Carmelite Fathers, who were erecting a monastery on an adjacent property. On July 16, 1876, Archbishop Lynch of the Toronto Diocese led a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Peace, and laid the cornerstone for the monastery of Mount Carmel. Stained glass windows, new altars, statues and pews were installed in the church, and a porch was added to the exterior in 1913. In 1950, the church purchased property on Barker Street and converted the Burns Knife Factory (formerly Spence's Carriage Works) and a house beside it, into Mariann Hall, which served as a social activity centre for the church. Mariann Hall acted as a mission church while Our Lady of Peace was renovated and refurbished in 1958. A new Parish Hall opened in 1966, adjacent to the church, on the former site of the Mount Carmel College barn. Our Lady of Peace Church celebrated its sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary in 1987.
Tradition holds that in 1682 merchants found an abandoned box on the shore of Mar del Sur in El Salvador. Unable to open it, they tied the box on the back of a donkey and departed to inform the local authorities of their find. When they were passing the parish church, now a cathedral, the donkey laid on the ground. They were then able to open the box and were surprised that it contained an image of Our Lady holding the Christ Child. It is said that a bloody conflict was being fought among inhabitants of the region; when they heard of the discovery they put down their weapons and immediately ceased fighting. This is why the image was given the title of Our Lady of Peace, whose liturgical celebration is November 21 in memory of its arrival in San Miguel.[3]
Óscar Romero, a renowned Salvadoran saint and Bishop, promoted devotion to Our Lady of Peace.
The statue is a dressed wooden carving, with the national shield of El Salvador embroidered on the front of the image's white robe. Our Lady holds a golden palm leaf in memory of the eruption of theChaparrastique volcano, which threatened to destroy the city with burning lava. The frightened dwellers ofSan Miguel brought out the statue of Our Lady of Peace to the principal door of the cathedral, and immediately the flow of the lava changed direction to travel away from the city.[citation needed]
Pope Benedict XV authorized thecanonical coronation of the image, which occurred on November 21, 1921.
In Hawaii, the title is translated asMalia O Ka Malu. While most of the world celebrates Our Lady of Peace on July 9, the United States celebrates her on January 24. This coincides with the erection of theDiocese of Honolulu in 1941 byPope Pius XII.[4]
Our Lady of Peace is the patroness of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, founded byPeter Coudrin inParis during theFrench Revolution. When the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary established theCatholic Church in Hawaii, they consecrated theHawaiian Islands under the protection of Our Lady of Peace. They erected the first Roman Catholicchurch in Hawaii to her. Today, theCathedral of Our Lady of Peace inHonolulu is the oldest Roman Catholiccathedral in continuous use in the United States.
There are three famous statues of Our Lady of Peace located in Paris and Honolulu. The original is a wooden carving located at aconvent of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in France. A larger replica in bronze was hoisted above the altar and sanctuary at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, while a third stands on a pedestal outside the cathedral.
The original statue of Our Lady of Peace wasceremonially crowned on July 9, 1906, by theArchbishop of Paris in the name ofPope Pius X. Every July 9 since then, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary have celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Peace.
Pope John Paul II consecrated and dedicated theBasilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro inCôte d'Ivoire to Our Lady of Peace.[5] It is the largest place of worship in Africa. Elsewhere throughout the world, there are parish churches named in honor of Our Lady of Peace in various forms, such as the parish of Our Lady of Peace in Brooklyn.[6]
TheEDSA Shrine inMetro Manila, thePhilippines, is also dedicated to Our Lady of Peace. Located alongEDSA, it commemorates the alleged role of the Virgin in thePeople Power Revolution of February 1986 that endedPresidentFerdinand Marcos'21-year dictatorship. In the “Rosary miracle,” Mary is said to have shrouded the more than one million peaceful demonstrators on the highway from possible air attacks by troops loyal to Marcos;[7] a mural inside the shrine's nave depicts the "miracle". The image associated with this particular shrine differs from traditional depictions of the title: Mary, crowned and clad in golden robes, has her arms outstretched, while several white doves surround her.
TheFoujita Chapel inReims, France, is dedicated to Our Lady, Queen of Peace, as a reaction to the horror and devastation caused by the 1945atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by American forces towards the end of theSecond World War.
The chapel atSt. Edward's University inAustin, Texas, is also dedicated to Our Lady Queen of Peace.[8]
St. Mary, Queen of Peace Basilica is the pro-cathedral of theSyro-Malankara Catholic Major Archeparchy of Trivandrum inKerala,India.
Queen of Peace Cemetery of theCatholic Diocese of Rockville Centre inOld Westbury, New York opened in 2020.[9]
Two Romantitular churches are dedicated to Mary Queen of Peace:Santa Maria Regina Pacis a Ostia Lido andSanta Maria Regina Pacis a Monte Verde.
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