An altar of Our Lady is a

side altar A side-altar or bye-altar is an altar that is subordinate to the central or high altar in a church. The term is generally applied to altars that are situated in the bay or bays of the nave, transepts, etc. Side-altars may be recessed in a side-ch ...

in a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church, usually the most prominent altar after the main or principal

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

. It is dedicated in a special manner to the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

, Mother of God. To indicate this specific preference, this altar is usually placed in a prominent position in the church, to the right of the main altar (the gospel side), or as the focal point of a distinct

Lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as ...

. In general it signifies any altar of which the Blessed Virgin is the titular.

References

;Attribution * Catholic liturgy {{RC-stub