Many years before Our Lady revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception to St. Bernadette in 1858, artists strove to convey her privileges visually to the faithful. Art Historian, Elizabeth Lev explores some of the artistic devices employed to illustrate Mary’s mysterious glories.

Artists of the Counter-Reformation bring home the Church’s complex and difficult teachings on the Virgin Mary.

Source: Depicting the Virgin Mary during the Counter-Reformation–Aleteia

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(Image courtesy of ANDREW MURRAY)

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Each year, in honor of the Sacred Heart, the townspeople of Genazzano decorate the streets with elaborate carpets of flower petals. A Eucharistic procession ensues, followed by a parade of participants dressed as Biblical figures. The following videos present the masters’ individual and grand-scale accomplishments.

Regarding the history of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Good Counsel- Madonna del Buon Consiglio- the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia writes,

“Records dating from the reign of Paul II (1464-71) relate that the picture of Our Lady, at first called “La Madonna del Paradiso” and now better known as “Madonna del Buon Consiglio”, appeared at Genazzano, a town about twenty-five miles southeast of Rome, on St. Mark’s Day, 25 April, 1467, in the old church of Santa Maria, which had been under the care of Augustinians since 1356. The venerated icon itself, which is drawn on a thin scale of wall-plaster little thicker than a visiting-card, was observed to hang suspended in the air without the slightest apparent support; thus early tradition, which furthermore tells how one might have passed a thread around the image without touching it. At once devotion to Our Lady in Santa Maria sprang up; pilgrim-bands began to resort thither; while miracles in ever-increasing numbers, of which a register was opened two days after the event, were wrought, as they still continue to be, at the shrine.”

The flower-mosaic below recalls the appearance of the miraculous image in the town.

Works Cited:

THOMAS C. MIDDLETON- NORTHCOTE, Celebrated Sanctuaries (Philadelphia, 1868); DILLON, The Virgin Mother of Good Counsel (Rome, 1884); BENNETT, Our Lady of Good Counsel in Gennazzano (New York, 1888); GOUGH, Our Lady of Good Counsel (London, 1894); VANTELLI, Cenni Storici. . .di Genazzano (Roma, 1839); BUGNANNO Della Immagine di Maria SSa. . .memorie storiche (Naples, 1874); PIFFERI, Relazione. . .del Santuario (Roma, 1903); DE ORIGIO, Istoriche notizie della prodigiosa Apparizione (n.p.n.d.).

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(Featured Image and Scene-titles taken from The Shrine of Fatima’s official webpage)

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“All the greatness of the Blessed Virgin was accomplished by the humility of her most holy Heart. From the first to the last moment of her life, her humility never ceased to invoke and draw upon her grace after grace, perfection after perfection, holiness upon holiness, until it brought her to the summit of the grace and holiness that, next to that of Christ, ever was or shall be greatest among men. As St. Bernard puts it: “It was just that she who considered herself the least of creatures, even though she was above all others, should have been honored as the worthiest and holiest of all.” Would you observe the admirable effects of such prodigious humility in the Heart of the Queen of the humble? Consider Mary throughout the course of her life, and you will see that, just as the life of Jesus was a constant exercise of humility, so the life of His Blessed Mother constituted a perpetual practice of the same virtue.”  (The Admirable Heart of Mary by St. John Eudes )

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The Mother of God told St. James not to worry, that the people to whom he preached would not only be converted, but they would one day have faith as strong as the pillar on which she stood. She gave the pillar and the statue to St. James and asked that a church be built on the spot in her honor…

Read more: The First Marian Apparition in Church History: Our Lady of the Pillar

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A tour of the architecture of the Cathedral of Notre Dame of Chartres, France an early example of the Gothic style and the religious significance of many details.

Chartres Cathedral (Notre Dame de Chartres), c.1145 and 1194 – c. 1230

0 – 9:17 West Façade and Royal Portal
9:17 – 16:44 Interior, Flying Buttresses, and Stained Glass
16:44 – 18:55 South Porch and Saint Theodore

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“A chapel in the city of Viacha, in the province of Ingavi, Bolivia, is responsible for housing the Virgin of the Litanies. This is quite a special image — not only because visiting it involves a trip to a city 4,200 meters above sea level, but also because the image itself is only 4.7 cm tall, making it a contender for the smallest image of the Virgin Mary in the world…”

Read More: The world’s smallest image of the Virgin Mary: Our Lady behind a magnifying glass

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