Our Lady

Our Lady of Penrhys, in 1538, was thrown from
a window in Saint Pauls, London, and destroyed.
Mary, Mother of Mercy, was the banner Arthur carried into battle.
When Rhys, the last king, or "Prince" of Wales died,
his memory was honoured in association with Penrhys.
(Penrhys means: "Rhys's head" !)
The statue of Mary, at Penrhys,
became the greatest site of pilgrimage in Wales.
Many of the pilgrims were aware that
the hopes and dreams of Wales could be brought here.

The original statue was said to have
appeared miraculously in a giant oak tree
which had been split by lightning.
A team of oxen were used to drag it out,
and could not move it.



The Holy Well of Penrhys, up to 1538, was overlooked
by the beautiful gilded figure of Saint Mary.

Gwilym Tew, poet, says that:

"It was crowned, had ruddy cheeks,
the Holy Infant in the arms
and a precious stone in the bosom".
Gwilym Tew noted that
"there were human marks
upon the face of Our Lady of Penrhys."

Possibly marks upon the gilded face appeared as tear marks.

On 23rd of August, 1538, the then Chancellor, Thomas Cromwell,
instructed William Herbert "to remove the famous effigy
as secretly as might be to prevent a local uprising".
This was done. The figure itself was said
to have been hurled through the west window
at Saint Pauls by Bishop Latimer.
He recommended afterwards that the figure, of wood, be "burned".

A miniature of the original figure is in the
Catholic Church at Tylorstown, Rhondda.



NOW, PENRHYS PARTNERSHIP
- with guidance from Wayne Carter -
are re-invigorating the pilgrimage.

See the PENRHYS PARTNERSHIP website,
for further GREAT NEWS !

OUR LADY OF GUADALOUPE

The miraculous image of the Virgin Mary appeared
in 1531 in Mexico on the cloak of an indigenous man.

The painted figure, on the rough burlap-like cloth
is displayed in a basilica near Mexico City
where it is the goal of many pilgrims, both
from Mexico and from abroad.

In accounts of the miraculous image, the Virgin
appeared to Juan Diego several times on a
mountain near his home. Unable to convince the
local bishop that the apparitions were real,
Diego begged the Lady for a sign. When he next
visited the bishop, his cloak was opened to
reveal blooming roses, and the image of Mary
painted on its surface.

This painting of the Lady of Guadaloupe draws
on the original painting for inspiration and
includes the roses associated with its first
appearance. It also shows the corn and earth
Goddess, Tonantzin, whose name means "Our mother"
and whose temple, only ten years before in pre-
Hispanic times, was situated on the same hill
where the Virgin appeared. It is interesting to
note that both Tonantzin and the Virgin were
associated with the moon, prominent under the
feet of the Lady of Guadaloupe, and both sites
were centres of pilgrimage cults. The sun rays
behind the Virgin were also associated with the
earlier goddess and form a natural transition
from the pre-Christian to the Christian image.

Because the Lady of Guadaloupe appeared to be
dark-skinned, the indigenous people claimed her
as their special patroness and today she is
acclaimed Queen of Mexico. Her image replaced
the Corn Goddess in their affections and all
over Mexico, statues of the Virgin of Guadaloupe
are seen. Many are clothed in real mantles and
carried in elaborate processions at feast days.
Her image has been known to work miracles from
its first appearance and draws many pilgrims daily.

Now, right now, today, Mexicans carry "Our Lady"
in their struggle for peace and social justice.

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Uriupinsk’s Mother of God icon

Recently many churchgoers in Volzhsk and Leninsk cathedrals
became witnesses of a miracle –
the icon of Uriupinsk’s Mother of God wept tears of myrrh.
This icon is famous because starting in the year 1827,
when it was first acquired, thousands of believers
were cured of multitudes of diseases and illnesses
by simply appealing their cases to it.
However, the icon has not blessed its worshippers with myrrh in recent years.
At least, not until now.
Both clergy and scientists agree on one thing:
myrrh tears are a mystery.
Experiments have shown that the chemical composition
of this substance is impossible to produce artificially.
Meanwhile the icon of Kazan’s Mother of God in Ilovl
shed tears of blood not long ago.
Even though scientists were not allowed to
see the icon itself, they reported after a brief glimpse
that the tears did, in fact, appear in those areas
of the painting where theoretically the blood vessels
would be located on a real face.

In Costa Rica, August 2nd is a National Holiday
called - "Our Lady of the Angels"
This is her story...


On August 2nd, 1635, an indigenous girl found a
little statue in the forest in the form of the
Black Virgin. She brought it to the priest, who
put it in a box. The next day the statue had
disappeared from the box and was found again in
the very same place where the girl had found it
the day before. Even though the statue was locked
away, again and again it disappeared from its
place and returned to the forest. A cathedral was
then built on that location and until now it
still shelters the statue.
People from as far away as Guatemala walk
the pilgrimage to honor ‘Our Lady of the Angels’
in Cartago on the 2nd of August every year.

Cartago is the former capital of Costa Rica and
home of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels.

The Start of Radio Maria.

Radio Maria was born as a parish radio in 1983
in the diocese of Milan, Italy.

Radio Maria's purpose was to keep parishioners informed
and to help them through prayer and even through
the broadcast of daily Mass and the Rosary.

In 1987, the Radio Maria Association was formed.

Within three years, the programme schedule had
been completely redesigned, and all of Italy's regions
were covered with the signal, making Radio Maria Italia
a National Broadcasting Station.

The World Family is born.

Radio Maria Italia felt the desire to communicate,
with a missionary spirit, such gifts with other nations.

The World Family, established in 1998,
was the natural consequence of the founding of
so many new Radio Maria stations throughout the world.
Within the World Family, the chrism forms more and more
a family whose strength resides in the Lord
and is at the service of the New Evangelization.
Radio Maria currently operates in over 30 countries,
spreading the Gospel to millions of listeners
in more than a dozen languages.

Radio Maria, in the United States

Like most members of the World Family,
Radio Maria USA can also be heard on the internet.
Radio Maria USA features prayers and programming
by local presenters and is made possible
only through the work of dedicated volunteers
and the donations of its generous listeners.


TO HEAR RADIO MARIA
PRESS THE LINK BELOW

Radio Maria: USA

On this Mountain

A new book of meditations inspired
by the Shrine of Our Lady of Penrhys
has been written by Fr Dean Atkins.
‘On this Mountain’, is based on
the twenty mysteries of the rosary
and gently weaves together the history
and culture of the Rhondda, with
teachings about the life of Jesus and Mary
and how the shrine has a relevance for us today.
It is an easy read, ideal for both those who
use the Rosary regularly in their prayers or for
those who have never picked up the beads.
So, if you want to learn more about the shrine
or simply to have something to help to feed your prayer
then why not buy a copy?

Copies are available from Fr Dean
Atkins, 029 2049 9867 or
youth@llandaff.org.uk
(Cost £3 plus p and p)

If you'd like to contribute to this page....

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