Our Lady of Cardigan ( cy, Mair o Aberteifi), also known as Our Lady of the Taper, the

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 ...

national shrine of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, is a statue of 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 ...

created by Sr

Concordia Scott Sister Concordia Scott (1924 – 2014) was a Scottish sculptor and Benedictine nun, of the Minster Abbey community, Minster-in-Thanet, Kent. Her commissioned works have included statues for Westminster Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral, Coventry Cath ...

and located in a chapel in Cardigan, Ceredigion,

Legend

According to Medieval legend, a statue of Our Lady and Child was found beside the River Teifi, in southwest Wales, with a burning taper (

candle A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candles i ...

) in her hand. The statue was taken to the local

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

, although it was moved several times before a church was specially built to house the shrine.

History

The present St Mary's church dates back to around 1158.Our Lady of Cardigan: The Story of the Shrine
, Roman Catholic Diocese of Menevia. The original statue is believed to have been taken to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and destroyed at Chelsea in 1538 along with other Marian images on the orders of

Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

, chief minister of

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

. In 1952, the Bishop of Menevia,

John Edward Petit John Edward Petit (22 June 1895 – 2 June 1973) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Menevia from 1947 to 1972. Born in London on 22 June 1895, he was ordained to the priesthood on 9 May 1918. He was appointed the Bishop of t ...

, was informed that Cardigan had once possessed a famous shrine and pilgrimage site, and a new statue was carved based on the description of the original. The new statue was blessed at

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of ...

in London and taken to every parish in the

Diocese of Menevia The Roman Catholic Diocese of Menevia is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Wales. It is one of two suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cardiff and is subject to the Archdiocese of Cardiff. History On 12 May 1898, the Apos ...

before arriving in Cardigan where it was placed in Our Lady of Sorrows church. Fourteen years later, a new church, Our Lady of the Taper, was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

, and the statue was placed in its current home.

Present

A new statue was recast in bronze in 1986 by Sr

and blessed at

Cardiff Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St David, also known as St David's Cathedral, Cardiff, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales, and is the centre of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff. Located in Charles S ...

before being taken around Wales and then installed before 4,500 pilgrims. A candle blessed by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

was placed in the statue's hand. The shrine was reinstated by Mgr John Petit and is visited by many

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

s each year. In September 2010, the statue was transposed to

on the occasion of the pastoral visit of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

, who personally lighted a candle on the statue's hand and blessed a mosaic of

Saint David Saint David ( cy, Dewi Sant; la, Davidus; ) was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail ab ...

in the cathedral. Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Cardigan has largely replaced that to Our Lady of Penrhys, in the Rhondda Valley of Glamorgan, documented in Welsh medieval literature but currently of difficult access for crowds.

References

External links

Our Lady of Cardigan website
{{Coord, 52, 5, 14, N, 4, 39, 9.8, W, display=title, type:landmark_region:GB Cardigan, Ceredigion Catholic Church in Wales Shrines to the Virgin Mary Statues of the Madonna and Child Roman Catholic national shrines Statues in Wales Monuments and memorials in Ceredigion Roman Catholic shrines in the United Kingdom Titles of Mary