Our Lady of China
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Our Lady of China, the Great Mother ( zh, t=中華大聖母, s=中华大圣母, first=t, p=Zhōnghuá Da Shèngmǔ), also known as Our Lady of Donglü ( zh, t=東閭聖母, s=东闾圣母, first=t, p=Dōnglǘ Shèngmǔ, links=no), is 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 ...
title 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 ...
associated with an alleged
Marian apparition A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time. In the Catholic Church, in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian ap ...
in
Donglü Donglü (), also written as Donglu, is a village in Donglü Township (), in Qingyuan County, Baoding, Hebei province, China. It has become known for the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as Our Lady of China, witnessed there in 19 ...
, China in 1900. On 19 February 2021,
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
granted a
canonical coronation A canonical coronation ( la, Coronatio Canonica) is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a bull, in which the pope bestows the right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureole to an image of Christ, Mary or Josep ...
for a Marian image decreed as
Madonna and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...
, presently venerated at the ''National Shrine of Our Lady of China'' in
Chiayi County Chiayi County (Mandarin pinyin: ''jiā yì xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Ka-gī-koān'') is a county in southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City. It is the sixth largest county in Taiwan. Name The former Chinese placename was ...
, Taiwan, Republic of China. The rite of coronation was executed on 14 August 2022.


History

During the
Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
, a great number of soldiers attacked the village of
Donglü Donglü (), also written as Donglu, is a village in Donglü Township (), in Qingyuan County, Baoding, Hebei province, China. It has become known for the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as Our Lady of China, witnessed there in 19 ...
, Hebei. The village consisted of a small community of Christians founded by the
Vincentian Order Vincentian can refer to: *A citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A person from Saint Vincent (island), the largest island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A member of one of the orders or societies in the Vincentian Family, both Roman ...
of priests. Pious legends claim that 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 ...
appeared in white, and a fiery horseman (believed to be
Saint Michael the Archangel Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), a ...
) who chased away the soldiers. The local priest, Father Rene Flament of the
Congregation of the Mission , logo = , image = Vincentians.png , abbreviation = CM , nickname = Vincentians, Paules, Lazarites, Lazarists, Lazarians , established = , founder = Vincent de Paul , fou ...
hired a local French painter in Shanghai to make a Marian statue similar to the Chinese dowager Empress
Ci Xi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese noblewoman, concubine and later regent who effectively controlled ...
. This image was based in the Marian image of “Our Lady of Laeken” venerated in the
Church of Our Lady of Laeken nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk van Laken , native_name_lang = , image = Église Notre-Dame de Laeken (DSCF1248-DSCF1251).jpg , imagesize = 271 , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption ...
in Brussels, Belgium. The Donglu statue was later destroyed in 1966 during the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
. Accordingly, Donglu became a place of pilgrimage in 1924. The image was blessed and promulgated by Pope Pius XI in 1928. At the close of the 1924 Shanghai Synod of Bishops in China, the first national conference of bishops in the country, the Apostolic Chancellor, Cardinal
Celso Costantini Celso Benigno Luigi Costantini (3 April 1876 – 17 October 1958) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal and the founder of the Disciples of the Lord who served as the Apostolic Chancellor from 1954 until his death. He became a cardinal in 19 ...
(剛 恆 毅), Apostolic Delegate in China, along with all the bishops of China, consecrated the Chinese people to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1941, Pope
Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius B ...
designated the feast day as an official feast of the Catholic liturgical calendar."Our Lady of China", The Cardinal Kung Foundation
/ref> In 1973, the Chinese Bishops' conference, upon approval from the Holy See, placed the feast day on the
vigil A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' (Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become genera ...
(day preceding) of
Mothers Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the ...
(the second Sunday of May). In 1989, a painted canvas of the same Madonna with Child Jesus dressed in golden imperial robes was recreated, now enshrined at the altar of the parish. Alternatively in 1976, another statue was reconstructed in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
now venerated in the “National Shrine of Our Lady of China”, which was constructed in 1913. In 2020, the former Bishop of Chiayi
Thomas Chung An-Zu Thomas Chung An-zu is the current serving archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Taipei, Taiwan and Apostolic Administrator of Kinmen or Quemoy Islands and Matzu. Early life Chung was born in Yunlin County in Taiwan on 7 August 1952. ...
requested a coronation for the Marian image, which was granted and merited a decree of pontifical coronation from
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
on 19 February 2021. The decree was released to the Taiwanese media on 2 March 2021. The image is then crowned on 14 August 2022.


Veneration and controversy

A
mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
rendition of Our Lady of China exists within the
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a large minor Catholic basilica and national shrine in the United States in Washington, D.C., located at 400 Michigan Avenue Northeast, adjacent to Catholic University. ...
in Washington D.C. established in 2002. Controversy arose due to the Marian iconography not being officially sanctioned by the
Holy Office The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible f ...
for religious propagation. Adding more political issues, a Chinese cardinal, Thomas Tien Keng-Hsin, sanctioned this variant image for a religious prayer card for the persecuted in China, and was widely promoted in America and Canada.


References


Citations


Notes


Sources

* https://web.archive.org/web/20050425130840/http://www.udayton.edu/mary/resources/olchina.html *http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=3172 {{refend


External links


Our Lady of China Pastoral Mission, Washington, D.C.
Catholicism in China China, Our Lady of Titles of Mary