Mary Page News
July 21, 2000
Mary Page News items give insight into our interest areas, our outreach, and the myriad ways
people honor Our Lady. We welcome your input and your comments.
Features
New Exhibit: Constance Pierce – Archetypes of Faith
![[Magnificat]](/mary/gallery/pierce/immaculate_compassio_small.jpg)
Constance Pierce, Artist-in-Residence, Yale University Divinity School in New Haven
Connecticut, is exhibiting monotypes and works on paper at the art gallery of The Marian
Library/International Marian Research Institute now through August 25th.
The "Magnificat" (shown right) is part of a series of fluid, linear, prussian blue images which
Pierce has created to depict the apparition of an angel or spiritual messenger, in this case
Gabriel's message to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pierce explains, "There are such moments
of spiritual announcement in all of our lives."
See the virtual exhibit at:
Current Exhibit
New Shrine – A Reader Writes
Please be advised that Our Lady of Walsingham Parish in Houston, Texas is at this moment
building a pilgrimage shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham. The address of this shrine is: 7809
Shadyvilla Lane, Houston Texas, 77055 for more information see the church website (use a
search engine to find it--it is part of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston.)
In a year or so the parish will be building a new cruciform church in traditional English
architectural style which will have in one transept a replica of the Walsingham holy house in
Norfolk, (the original shrine) destroyed by King Henry VIII during the English Reformation.
Our Lady is doing something new in Texas under the suprizing title of Our Lady of
Walsingham, her title as Patroness of England. At the new shine as at the ancient one, the
mystery of the Incarnation is honoured by considering the joy of the Annunciation and the life of
the Holy Family at Nazareth. When completed, the shrine will be surrounded by a meditation
garden open to all.
Loreto Basilica Renovated
![[Loreto house]](/mary/images/loreto1.jpg)
One of the most frequently visited basilicas in Europe has been renovated during a two-year
process of restoration. The shrine of Loreto is visited by five million people yearly. The basilica
contains the little house honored as the "holy house of Nazareth" which has been located in
Loreto since 1295.
See our Mary Page article
Where
is the Holy House Mary lived in located?
Kevelaer, Germany Declares Mary Patroness
A report in the newsletter, Bote von Fatima [Fatima Messenger], July 2000, states:
On Wednesday, May 31, 2000, a singular event took place at the Marian
pilgrimage place in Kevelaer. For the first time in its history, the citizens of the city declared
Mary as their patroness. Preparation for the dedication to Mary began three years ago with a lay
movement known as "Maria Kevelaer 2000".
The history of this event goes back to 1942 during the second World War. The rector of the
shrine at that time, Wilhelm Holtmann, was afraid that the 300 year old Kevelaer picture of grace
could be destroyed by bombing or confiscated by the Nazi. He secretly removed the tiny image
from its shrine and buried it under the tower of the marian basilica. The secret and the protection
of the image was entrusted to seven men from seven generations.
The simple, little Marian picture of grace, [which is traced back to a miracle during the Thirty
Years War]. During World War II, no harm came to the image, and it was later
returned to its shrine.
Nearly sixty years later, there are again people in Kevelaer who are concerned about the image.
This time, it is not physical harm, but spiritual erosion. Electing Our Lady as patroness of the
city is a statement in a time when Christianity has apparently become "unmodern". Once again,
seven men from seven generations, representing the citizens of Kevelaer, undertook the
responsibility to protect and to revitalize the shrine. This shall strengthen Christianity and it shall
take place under Mary's protection.
Mary in the Secular Press
Commentary on Mary in various news articles from July 7 - July 19, 2000.
The director and editors of Mary Page under the auspices of the International Marian
Research Institute do not necessarily endorse or agree with the events and ideas
expressed in this feature. Our sole purpose is to report on items about Mary gleaned from
a myriad of papers representing the secular press.
- Visionaries can lead us to a better future, but must find their authenticity in tested
standards, wrote Bill Tammeus, member of the Kansas City Star's editorial board on July 16.
Commenting on the Vatican's release of the text of the third secret of Fatima, Tammeus noted
that the Vatican also published a long, carefully written commentary that said the Fatima secrets
belong to the category of "private revelation," the role of which " is not to complete Christ's
definitive Revelation" but to help others live more fully, and that the credibility of such
revelation, according to church teaching, depends on "its orientation to Christ himself. When it
leads us away from him then it certainly does not come from the Holy Spirit."While it's for the
Catholic Church to decide whether the Fatima secrets meet that standard, the church's approach
to making that judgement is helpful to all of us, Tammeus concluded.
- An editorial in the July 10 issue of the Cincinnati Enquirer explores the connection between
the third secret of Fatima, the release of Pope John Paul II's would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Agca
and 1980's stories, largely from Israeli intelligence sources, that the shooting of the pope was a
Kremlin job carried out by Bulgarians. Spreading the Kremlin story would distract attention from
Ali Agca's Turkish origins, Philip Terzian wrote.
- Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who attempted to kill the Pope in 1981, launched a verbal
onslaught against the Vatican, accusing the Holy See of distorting the secrets of Fatima, Agence
France Press said on July 10. "The Vatican has changed some of the secrets of Fatima because
the secrets actually predicted that the Vatican would follow the devil, deviate from true religion
and become a political and economic power and that the cardinals would fight each other," Agca
said in a hand-written statement distributed to the press by his lawyer.
- A renowned French boys choir from Paris, Les Petits Chanteurs de la Vierge Noire (The
Little Singers of the Black Virgin), was to present a 90-minute concert in St. Amelia Church,
Tonawanda, as part of its 2000 North American Tour, the Buffalo News said on July 14. The
choir's title refers to a frequently visited medieval statue of the Virgin Mary in Neuilly, a Paris
suburb.
- St. John of the Cross Catholic Church in Lacombe planned an afternoon quiet reflection July
16 in honor of the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, according to the Times-Picayune.
Eucharistic Adoration and spiritual talks by the pastor and by the associate provincial delegate of
Lay Carmelites were planned.
- The "Maria Triptychon" for soprano, violin, and orchestra, a three-part work by Frank
Martin depicting events in the life of the Virgin Mary, was performed by the Minnesota
Orchestra as part of the orchestra's Viennese Sommerfest on July 14, the Star Tribune reported.
- The Church of Our Lady at Harryville in Ballymena was badly damaged in an arson attack
on July 18, the Belfast News Letter said on July 19. Police investigating the attack, the latest in a
series on Catholic churches and Orange halls, are treating it as sectarian.
- A 3-foot tall statue of the Virgin Mary was stolen from the front yard of a west Bloomington,
IL resident, the Pantagraph reported on July 13. The owner, battling health problems, said she
was doubly discouraged after losing the statue and hoped for its return.
- "Memphians" back from a 10-day retreat to Fatima, Portugal, "where the faithful pray and
weep at the shrine where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to three children in 1917,"
were shown talking with Faith Matters columnist David Waters of the Memphis, TN.,
Commercial Appeal in a photo published July 7.
- City authorities in Minsk have banned an annual Catholic procession marking the feast of
Corpus Christi, a spokesman for Minsk's Cathedral of the Virgin Mary told the Belapan news
agency, the BBC reported on July 12. First staged in the Belarusian capital in 1991, the
ceremony had become a tradition for the city, gathering up to 5,000 participants each year.
- The German press agency (Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported on July 9, that Lourdes
would be a source of inspiration for the famous cycle race, "Tour de France". The 87th Tour de
France will make a visit to the pilgrimage site before the race begins. The article states that many
Italian and Catholic cycle professionals will be asking for help for the race. The German, Udo
Boelts, is also a regular visitor to the grotto.
The article continues that since 1858 200 million people have traveled to the place of pilgrimage.
Last year alone (1999), 5.2 million visitors from 150 countries were recorded. According to a
city executive, Lourdes is the French city with the third largest revenue income. Year after year,
1.2 million use the train to reach the city. The newly enlarged and handicapped accessible airport
is the second largest charter airport in France.
The French, Agence France Presse, reports will pass an 11th century chapel in Landes which
honors Mary as Our Lady of Bikers. The parish priest, a former biker, Luis Ocana, has
established a museum there with biker exhibits and memorabilia. The chapel is also the burial
site of the champion French biker, Henri Anglade.
- On July 10, Le Monde news service, France, reported on a sociological change in Lyon. The
celebration of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th has changed from a strictly religious
celebration to a cultural festival. The festival will now include (and be called) "feast of lights"
with luminaries lit in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Lyons festival thus re-appropriates
the feast in consideration of the religious aspect.
- The Italian news, La Stampa, reports that Carolina di Momaco and Ernst di Hannover
privately visited the chapel where the Medjugorie statue, known now as the weeping Madonna of
Civitavecchia, is located. The statue is said to have wept periodically for the past five years.
The Person of Mary – Social Dimension (Mary and
Women...)
The Mary Page theme for this news brief about the Blessed Mother is culled from
magisterial documents since Vatican II. The theme covers various aspects of Mary's
personhood. Mary is a real, historical person who lived in Nazareth 2000 years ago.
The example from magisterial writings below is derived from the document Signum
Magnum (SM) and Vita Consecrata (VC).
- From that moment [Annunciation] she devoted herself wholly to serving not only her
heavenly Father and the Incarnate Word, but also the whole human race (SM 17)
- Having lived with Jesus and Joseph in the hidden years of Nazareth, and present at her Son's
side at crucial moments of his public life, the Blessed Virgin teaches unconditional discipleship
and diligent service. (VC 28)
The Person of Mary:
Social Dimension (Mary and Women...)
Prayer Corner Requests
You are invited to help us pray for our prayer corner intentions.
Prayer Corner
The intentions of the Holy Father for July 2000:
- General Intentions: That the followers of the various religions May grow in
respecting one another and collaborating to consolidate justice and peace in the world
- Mission Intentions: That all those who are tried by sickness and loneliness may
offer their suffering with Christ for the conversion of the world
For more information on these intentions, see: Apostleship of
Prayer
Return to July 7, 2000
Return to June 30, 2000
Return to The Mary Page
Mary Page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute,
Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390, was last modified Monday, 25-Sep-2000 14:55:22 EDT by J. M.
Frisk. Please send any comments to
Johann.Roten@udayton.edu.
You are visitor
#
URL for this page is http://www.udayton.edu/mary/news00/20000721.html
Search /
Academic Program /
Library /
Gallery /
Outreach and Development
Books /
Research and Publications /
Resources /
News /
Marian Movements
Meditations /
Prayer /
Documents /
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) /
Home
