OUR LADY OF IRELAND

Day 309: March 17

Our Lady of Ireland, Cathedral of Gyer (Győr) – Hungary



During the difficult times of Oliver Cromwell's persecution in Ireland, one of the bishops forced to leave Ireland was Dr Lynch, Bishop of Clonfert. He traveled around Europe and finally arrived in Hungary in 1654. He was graciously received by John Pusky, bishop of Gyer, and eventually became auxiliary bishop of the diocese.

Ten years later, Bishop Lynch planned to return to his homeland. Almighty God prevented this; during his last hours of life he gave the Bishop of Gyer his only material treasure: the image of Our Lady of Ireland. As a reminder of the Irish bishop, the image of Our Lady hung on the wall of Gyer Cathedral. The years passed.

During the feast of St Patrick (March 17, 1697), while a large number of faithful were present in the cathedral, an event of great wonder took place. From the eyes of the Blessed Virgin from the painting, tears of blood rolled from six in the morning until nine (3 hours).

Drops of blood fell on the pictures of the Child Jesus. As the bleeding continued for three hours, they used various linen towels, which are still stored under glass in his sanctuary, to wipe the blood from the blood's breathable face.

The bleeding spot is still barely visible on the preserved linen fabric. A chemistry professor in the mid-1900's was allowed to chemically examine a particle from the darker vein removed from flax, and chemical testing found that what they were supposed to be was a mixture of tears and real human blood.

In the archives of Gyer Cathedral, there is a document written in 1697 on parchment, relating to this event. It is signed not only by the clergy and laity who were present at the Mass, but also by the mayor and councilors, governors, Lutheran and Calvinist preachers, a rabbi, over one hundred signatures representing eyewitnesses of the miracle. In 1767, the Weeping Virgin Mary was set in a magnificent Baroque altarpiece. In 1874, Pope Pius IX granted a plenary indulgence to the feasts of St Patrick and the Assumption, before which public novenas take place.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"Devotion to Mary is a fast-tracked course of perfection. It is the perfect compendium of all means of salvation, corresponding to the fact that Mary is full of grace and the synthesis of sanctification."

(Comp. Shiju Chittattukara & Anil Akkara, 365 Days with St Justin Russolillo, Father Justin Vocationary, Florham Park, 2021, p. 18)

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