Mary Page News

June 22, 2001

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.

• The Liturgical Season with Mary
• News from the ML/IMRI
• News from Around the World
• Marian Events
• New Resources
• Documents, Pronouncements (Magisterial, doctrinal)
• Mary in the Secular Press
• Prayer Corner
• Marian Themes in Magisterial Documents
• News Archive
  

  ---

News from the ML/IMRI

Personal thoughts and reflections about Mary from our readers 

We've added a section to our Research and Publications section showing selected personal comments from our readers about the Virgin Mary.  Click here to see comments received within the past month.  From this page, feel free to submit your own personal thoughts on Mary.  

 Return to Top

New Exhibit: Janet McKenzie

A new exhibit, Mary and Women: Images From the Heart, featuring works by Janet McKenzie, will be on display through July 27, 2001.  The works can be seen on-line by clicking into the Gallery section of the Mary Page and then choosing 'Current Exhibit'.

Return to Top

International Marian Research Institute Summer Courses

Summer courses began on June 11.  See the course offerings for the summer academic session of The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute at: Summer Schedule.

Return to Top

 Marian Events

This section lists all of the current Marian Events by geographical position.

Return to Top

Mary in the Secular Press

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.

Commentary on Mary in various news articles from June 6 through June 18, 2001.

• More than 4,000 pilgrims attended a service June 16 at St. Laurence’s church in Pist, North Moravia, during which papal nuncio Giovanni Coppa crowned a picture of the Virgin Mary of Czestochowa with two gilded crowns, the Czech News Agency said that day. The crowns were recently blessed by Pope John Paul II and the organizers read a message from the Pope before the crowning.

• Sotheby’s was to offer for sale in London the following day one of the finest Books of Hours ever produced, Scotsman Publications Ltd. Said on June 18.  The two-volume illustrated manuscript containing short prayers, each suitable for a different hour of the day, in honor of the Virgin Mary, was made in the 16^th century at the instigation of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg. The work is the most outstanding of a selection of illuminated manuscripts from the personal collection of the Dutch businessman Joost R. Ritman, to be auctioned June 19. Proceeds will benefit the Bilotheca Philsophica Hermetica in Amsterdam, founded by Mr. Ritman in 1957.

• The wonderworking icon of Our Lady of Sitka was transferred from Alaska to Saint Tikhon’s Monastery in South Canaan, PA, for the 97^th annual pilgrimage during the last weekend of May, the May-June issue of The Orthodox Church said.  Permanently enshrined in the Cathedral of Saint Michael the Archangel in Sitka, the icon is considered one of the most revered of the Theotokos in North America. It is a variation of the traditional icon of Our Lady of Kazan and has been attributed to a famous Russian iconographer, Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky. The icon was presented to the cathedral as a gift from employees of the Russian-American Company in 1850, two years after construction of the church was completed. Numerous miracles have been attributed to the icon over the years.

• Our Lady of the New Millennium, a stainless steel statue of the Virgin Mary more than 33 feet tall and weighing 8,400 pounds, was scheduled to arrive June 17 for a week long stay at St. Edna Catholic Church in Arlington Heights, the Chicago Daily Herald said on June 13. Created by Carl Demma and sculpted by Charles Cooper Parks, the statue was blessed by Pope John Paul II in January, 1999, during his visit to St. Louis. It was blessed at Holy Name Cathedral in May of that year by Francis Cardinal George and was on display at the Chicago Archdiocese’s Millennium Mass at Soldier Field that June. Referred to as the Traveling Madonna, the statue has made suburban stops in parishes outside Chicago. Its next stop will be at St. Petronille parish in Glen Ellyn. A permanent place for the statue is yet to be determined.

• Crowds protested outside a monastery in southern Egypt on June 18, angry at revelations that an excommunicated monk allegedly ran a sex-and-blackmail ring at the site, revered as a stopping place of Jesus and the Virgin Mary during their flight to Egypt. The protest in Assiut came a day after thousands of Coptic Christians rioted outside their cathedral in Cairo to protest a sensational story and photographs published by a weekly newspaper, the Associated Press said on June 18. The monastery was built in the fourth century and is known as the Burnt Monastery and also as the Virgin Mary Monastery.

• “Our Lady of the Highway” is back at her post after a more than 20-year absence, the Associated Press said on June 15.  For decades a larger-than-life statue of the Virgin Mary stood outside Assumption of Mary Church along State Route 17 on the border of Cleveland and its southwest suburbs. When the church moved to a new location in Brook Park in 1981, the statue went into storage. Now restored, the statue is at a Christian bookstore in Berea. But a new 7-foot hand-painted fiberglass and plaster statue of Our Lady, crafted in Italy, graces the front lawn of a showroom for Milano Monuments and Flowers, built on the site of the former church rectory, just up the block from the former church.

• Places sacred to people of various faiths are popular destinations for holiday-makers as well as pilgrims, the Singapore Straits Times wrote on June 16. Visiting places like Fatima in Portugal and Lourdes in France was the fulfillment of a lifetime dream for Peter Nathan, a clerk in his 60s, who visited the shrines last year. Faith Tours, a Catholic pilgrimage specialist, saw a 20-percent increase in the number of pilgrims due to the Jubilee Year celebrations. Mecca in Saudi Arabia attracts from 3,500 to 4,000 Singaporean Muslim pilgrims each year, for the 30 day Haj, plus 11,000 to 12,000 who go for the shorter Umrah. India attracts Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim and Christian pilgrims and the month-long Khumb-Mela Festival in northern India attracted an estimated 30 million visitors.

• Regina Tours, a FAR&WIDE Travel corporation company, has combined the great Catholic destinations of Lourdes and Fatima with a tour of Spain, Business Wire, Inc. wrote on June 6. The Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes in southwestern France in 1858 and to three Portuguese children in Fatima, northeast of Lisbon, in 1917. The itinerary also includes a visit to Burgos and Lisbon. Regina Tours is the only Catholic tour operator maintaining active membership in the U.S. Tour Operators Association.

• Critics of “Our Lady,” an image of the Virgin Mary clothed in flower garlands, have appealed a decision by the Museum of New Mexico to keep the artwork on display.  An appeal filed by Deacon Anthony Trujillo of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish asks the museum to remove the entire exhibit containing “Our Lady” and contends that the Museum of New Mexico violated its own policies by not considering the spiritual concerns of the Roman Catholic Community in northern New Mexico, the Albuquerque Journal said on June 16. The depiction of Our Lady of Guadalupe by California artist Alma Lopez is on display at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe.

• Marina Warner reworks the sociopolitical ambiguities of her study of the Virgin Mary, Alone of All Her Sex, in a dense, allusive novel in which she attempts to animate a debate that centers on the democratization of culture, the shared ownership of the past and the uncertain direction of the future. The Leto Bundle is underwritten by thoughts of impeccable integrity and significant depth but the emotional impact of her central story is muted and trivialized by her creator’s nervous habit of accumulating narrative clutter, the London Guardian wrote on June 9.

• The New York City Ballet was in a sweetly melancholy mood when it danced Peter Martin’s “Stabat Mater” June 12 at the New York State Theater. The Latin text of Pergolesi’s vocal score depicts the lamentation of the Virgin Mary and the Crucifixion. But Mr. Martin’s calm, flowing choreography avoids overtly  religious reference and the ballet shows three couples gathered at a ruin in the countryside who find themselves haunted by the mysterious sadness of the place, the New York Times said on June 14.

• Jack the Cricket tricks the Virgin Mary into pleading his case before Jesus, who deliberately appears as a black man to test the racism of the assembly, in a scene that swings merrily between comedy and tears and sums up the film’s humanist philosophy, the Daily Variety wrote on June 16 of "A Dog’s Will" (O Auto de Compadecida). "Yet its truly Christian spirit rings absolutely sincere." The Globo Filmes production, reviewed at the Cannes Film Festival in May, is a joyful romp through Brazil’s wild Northeast in the roguish adventures of Jack the Cricket and his pal Chico. Born as a hit stage play by Ariano Suassuna, made into a hit TV miniseries, the story was then brought to the screen, where it has become Brazil’s No. 1 all-time box office hit.

• Performances of "Our Lady of Perrysburg," were to continue through June 17 at the Dayton Theatre Guild, the Dayton Daily News said on June 10. The comedy by Sherry Camp Paulsen is about reported sightings of the Virgin Mary in a Southern town.

• “I’ve even disconnected the lights illuminating the little statue of the Virgin Mary in my living room” was the New York Times Quotation of the Day on June 6. Spoken by Aurora Nascimento Fonseca, an 81-year-old in Brazil, where households have been ordered to meet conservation targets.

Return to Top

News from Around the World

From Zenit

Pope´s Address Before Praying "Regina Caeli"

Calls for an End to Exploitation of Children as Soldiers

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 3, 2001

1. At the end of this solemn celebration, I want to entrust to Mary's maternal intercession the whole Church, which in Pentecost has a renewed awareness of her missionary vocation. Moreover, we place in her hands the expectations of peace and justice of the world. In particular, we wish to recommend to Our Lady's intercession the lives of so many youths, who are victims of the ongoing absurd violence in several countries, as testified by the news reaching us in the past days from the Holy Land. In addition to them, we remember especially the children involved in armed conflicts. In about 50 countries, many minors live in the midst of conflicts or post-conflict situations. They are victims of forced recruitment and of abuses of all kinds; they cannot go to school, they are separated from their parents, and subjected to physical and psychological violence.  

I appeal to the international community to increase its efforts to protect and rehabilitate all those who live in such tragic conditions. May the children, who are humanity's future and hope, grow up at last far away from the flagellation of war and every form of violence. May Mary, Mother of life, protect children in danger and support those who work to help them.

2. In a few moments, the venerable remains of Blessed John XXIII, which we had with us during the Holy Mass, will be devotedly taken to the Vatican Basilica, where they will remain exposed for the veneration of the faithful. I remember with admiration the brief but intense pontificate of this, my unforgettable predecessor. At this moment, I would like to recall his fervent devotion to Our Lady. He often remembered the good traditions of his childhood, when the most elderly in the family led the recitation of the rosary at home. Since then, he liked to say, Most Holy Mary took him by the hand and accompanied him on the path of the priesthood, the ideal of his whole life.

On May 15, 1963, during the last general audience in St. Peter's Basilica, he exhorted everyone to multiply their manifestations of affection for Mary, to whom, he underlined, the whole Eternal City is, so to speak, consecrated.

Let us gather his spiritual testament! Like him, let us deepen our relation with the Mother of Christ and Tabernacle of the Holy Spirit and, inspired by new fervor, let us invoke her with confidence: Regina caeli ... 

Excerpt of John Paul II’s Message for Missions Sunday 2001, June 5, 2001

"Set Out Anew From Christ With the Zeal of Pentecost" 

Mary Has Appeal for Other Religions

Lourdes Conference Draws Various Faiths

LOURDES, France, JUNE 12, 2001 

The Blessed Virgin Mary is a starting point for presenting the Christian message to believers of other religions, said a Vatican official returning from an interfaith conference at Lourdes.

Cardinal Francis Arinze, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, delivered a key address at the conference June 7-8.

In an interview with Vatican Radio in Rome, he noted that Mary was a young Jewess, faithful to the tradition of her fathers. Yet, he said, it is interesting to note that the Koran, the sacred book of Islam, mentions her 34 times "always with great respect. She is regarded as a virgin, full of faith, obedient to God."

Buddhists do not have a figure that corresponds to the Virgin of Christian faith, but their religiosity appreciates the feminine values proper to Mary, such as compassion, maternity and piety, something that can help them understand her witness, Cardinal Arinze explained.

In Indian religions, there is also an image of feminine cult that includes femininity, maternity, fertility and piety, the cardinal added.

The conference at Lourdes was organized by the local diocese in cooperation with the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. It gathered experts to study Mary's role in ecumenical dialogue and in relations among religions.

On the first day, the sessions focused on Mary in ecumenical dialogue. The debate centered on "The Virgin and the Call to Christian Unity," as well as the importance of icons for the Oriental Churches and their message.

Participants in the debates included Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran representatives and theologians, as well as those of other Christian confessions of various countries, the majority European.

The choice of Lourdes for this type of debate, a shrine of Catholic popular piety and pilgrimage, might seem paradoxical. Bishop Jacques Perrier of Tarbes and Lourdes, organizer of the event, told ZENIT that since 1984 there has been a pavilion for the service "of Christian unity" in the shrine.

Bishop Perrier said he believes that this type of ecumenical initiative takes nothing away from the "Catholic specificity" of Marian devotion.

"The Catholic specificity in Lourdes is manifested not only in Marian devotion but also in the sacraments celebrated here, and the bishops and priests who exercise their ministry," he explained.

The meeting served to underline the importance of the Dombes document, a revolutionary declaration written by Catholic and Protestant theologians, which gives Mary her "full place" and "no more than her place." The document concludes that Mary is not a problem for the ecumenical dialogue (see Groupe des Dombes, "Marie dans le dessein de Dieu et la communion des saints," Bayard Éditions-Centurion, 1999).

"If the colloquium served to make this document known, we think we did not waste time or spend our energy in vain," Bishop Perrier added.

On the second day, the debate focused on Mary and relations among religions. The debate was opened by Rabbi Michel Serfaty, who spoke on the "Image of a Jewish Mother at the Dawn of Our Era," offering a thoughtful human profile of Myriam of Nazareth, as the Virgin's original name was in Hebrew.

Two testimonies followed on Mary as seen by other religions. Jean-Jacques Rouchi gave the Muslim perspective and Chow-Ching-Lie the Buddhist. Cardinal Arinze spoke of Mary as "a sign for the third millennium."

In his Vatican Radio interview, the cardinal noted that since other religions do not recognize the Trinity, they cannot recognize Christ as the Son of God, and Mary as the Mother of God.

"Yet, we must thank God for the positive connotations that Mary has for the other religions," which make Mary a bridge with other believers, he said.

From L’Osservatore Romano June 6 & 13

• At the outdoor Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Trinity Sunday, June 10, during which the Holy Father canonized five saints, the Pope concluded his homily by asking "Mary the Queen of all saints, who first heard the call of the Most High," to "uphold us in our service of God and neighbor."

  Before the final blessing of the canonization Mass the Holy Father led the recitation of the Angelus, which he introduced with a brief reflection on Our Lady: "Her humble and sublime existence is a masterpiece of the Holy Trinity and for every baptized person represents the 'archetype' of Christian life, to which we should aspire with trust and determination," the Pope said.

• The Pope called on Mary’s intercession and guidance as he addressed various groups:
  • In his Message of congratulations May 15 for the Ninth Centenary of St. Bruno’s to the Prior of the Grande Chartreuse in France, the minister general and members of the Order, he entrusted "all the members of the Carthusian family to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mater singularis Cartusiensium, Star of Evangelization of the third millennium."

  • In his message to the Minims Tertiary for the fifth centenary of the approval of their First Rule by Pope Alexander VI on May 1, 1501, he said, "May you be accompanied by the Holy Virgin, Mother of the Church and pillar of our hope."

  • To the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions on June 1 he said, "I entrust your entire family to Mary, Star of Evangelization. May she sustain and console you. May she protect you together with the Blesseds and Saints who offered their lives entirely for the mission."

  • To a delegation of the Bishops’ Conference of Romania on June 1, he said, "In spirit I present this new edition of the Bible to the Christians of Romania, and I call upon Mary, the listening Virgin and Mother of unity, to watch over the footsteps of the entire Romanian people."

• Receiving in audience the movements, associations, families and parishes which have hosted children from Chernobyl, the Pope on April 26 said, "With my journey to Ukraine approaching, I am more anxious than ever to embrace all the children of that nation." He invoked the protection of Mary, Mother of Hope for the numerous victims of Chernobyl and those responsible for the destiny of mankind.

•  The last day of May was observed with the traditional candlelight procession and recitation of the Rosary at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens, where the procession was joined by the Holy Father who spoke briefly to the faithful. In his reflection on Mary he said “It is very significant that the last day of May brings us the feast of the Visitation. With this conclusion, it is as if we wanted to say that every day of this month has been a sort of visitation for us. We have lived a continuous visitation during the month of May, just like Mary and Elizabeth. I hope for you all…that the grace of the Marian visitation you have experienced during the month of May and especially on this last evening, will be extended in the days to come.”

Return to Top

New Resources

We've added the answer to a new question submitted by a reader. 

• What do The Simpsons say about Mary?

A new section on Argentinian stamps with images of Mary has been added to our Resources section.  Expect more from other countries to follow.

We have added material on Guido Dettoni della Grazia and his Maria exhibit to the Artists in our Gallery section.  Also our Prayer section on now includes a Litany to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and a list of Spanish Features has been added to our Resources.

We've posted memorials to three long-time faculty members who died recently:

Fr. Frederick M. Jelly, O.P.

Fr. Walter M. Brennan, O.S.M.

Fr. Théodore Koehler, S.M.

The graphic at the top left of our home page now randomly displays flowers named after the Virgin Mary.  Click on the flower to enlarge the image and display information about it. 

We have also updated our Search engine.  Feel free to inform us on how you think it compares to the previous version.

We have also revised the navigation index at the far left of each page.  Let us know what you think.

Return to Top

Documents, Pronouncements (Magisterial, doctrinal)

This section contains full-text official documents from the Catholic Church on matters related to the Virgin Mary and other points of Catholic Doctrine. This week's item is Signum Magnum [The Great Sign] – Apostolic Exhortation On Venerating and Imitating the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church and Model of All Virtues, Pope Paul VI, 13 May 1967 [Visit to Fatima: Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary]
www.udayton.edu/mary/resources/documents/SM.html  

Return to Top

Marian Themes in Magisterial Documents

This section contains an index to Marian references within various official documents from the Catholic Church. This week's topic is Marian Devotion: Various Forms of Marian Piety.  Various documents that include devotion to the heart of Mary [mainly excerpts]: www.udayton.edu/mary/resources/documents/docs7-2.html

Return to Top

News Archive

This section contains excerpts from past editions of the Mary Page news.

Return to Top

Our Mary Page web site is updated frequently. Please stop in again and see what's new. 

Prayer Corner Requests

You are invited to help us pray for our Prayer Corner intentions.  Please take a look!  This site has been updated and enhanced and now allows users to directly submit prayer requests or to volunteer as a prayer partner for these intentions!

Return to Top

Return to June 8, 2001

Return to The Mary Page

Mary Page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390, was last modified Thursday, 16-Aug-2001 14:20:24 EDT by Michael P. Duricy. Please send any comments to Johann.Roten@udayton.edu.

You are visitor #
URL for this page is http://www.udayton.edu/mary/news01/20010622.html