{"id":653,"date":"2021-12-08T18:32:30","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T02:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/?p=653"},"modified":"2021-12-08T18:32:30","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T02:32:30","slug":"our-lady-of-la-leche-a-needed-image-for-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/2021\/12\/our-lady-of-la-leche-a-needed-image-for-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Lady of La Leche: A Needed Image for Women"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Did you know that the oldest Marian shrine in the United States is in St. Augustine, Florida? Did you know that shrine is dedicated to Our Lady of La Leche y Buen Parto, that is, Our Lady of the Milk and Happy Delivery?<\/p>\n

It is not surprising that our oldest Marian shrine is in the oldest continuously inhabited city in the United States. What might be surprising, however, is the long history of the devotion to Our Lady of La Leche.<\/p>\n

A Cave Near Bethlehem<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There is a legend that says, before the Holy Family fled to Egypt to escape Herod\u2019s Slaughter of the Innocents, they hid in a cave near Bethlehem. As Mary was nursing the baby Jesus, a few drops of her milk spilled onto some dark stones, turning them white.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Image by Ambroz from Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Around the fourth century, the cave was named the Milk Grotto, and miracles were thought to occur there. It is known that pilgrims were coming to the site by the sixth century.<\/p>\n

Today, the Holy Land Franciscans care for the site where both Christian and Muslim women come to seek Our Mother\u2019s help with infertility or high-risk pregnancies.<\/p>\n

When Crusaders returned from the Holy Land in the Middle Ages, they brought stories of Our Lady of La Leche, and the devotion spread.<\/p>\n

The Spanish Connection<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the 16th<\/sup> century, a Spanish noble brought home a statue of a nursing Blessed Mother that he liberated from a drunken sailor. The nobleman\u2019s pregnant wife was in danger of losing her life and that of their child. However, after fervent prayers before the statue, she and the baby survived in good health.<\/p>\n

Upon learning of this and other such miracles, King Philip III erected a shrine to Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de la Leche y Buen Parto in a Madrid church. The devotion was then carried to Florida by Spanish explorers.<\/p>\n

On Our Lady\u2019s birthday, September 8, in 1565, Pedro Menendez de Aviles landed his expedition in St. Augustine. He planted a cross to dedicate the site to God. The location of that cross became the Mission de Nombre de Dios (Name of God).<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo courtesy of the Diocese of St. Augustine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perhaps because a Mass of Thanksgiving was offered that Marian feast day, a special devotion to Nuestra Se\u00f1ora de La Leche y Buen Parto developed. In 1577, settlers brought a replica of the Madrid statue to the Mission, and a shrine was built there in 1609. (Sadly, the original Madrid statue was destroyed in the Spanish Civil War.)<\/p>\n

The American Shrine<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The original American shrine was destroyed by a British invasion in 1728 but was rebuilt in 1875. The current small chapel, seating only about 30 but recently restored, was built in 1914.<\/p>\n

Today, the Mission grounds, called the \u201csacred acre,\u201d contain not only the shrine\u2019s chapel, but also a 208-foot stainless steel cross planted where the cross of Menendez once stood and a 11-foot bronze statue of the expedition\u2019s chaplain, Fr. Francisco Lopez de Mendoza.<\/p>\n

According to the shrine\u2019s web site, supplicants come from all over the world to pray for the powerful intercession of Our Lady, \u201cand many return in thanksgiving to share their stories.\u201d https:\/\/missionandshrine.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has accorded national shrine status to the Florida site. In 2019, the Vatican approved a special feast day, Oct. 11, for Our Lady of La Leche, and Pope Francis granted a Canonical Coronation.<\/p>\n

The Canonical Coronation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As the shrine\u2019s web site reports: \u201cA canonical coronation is a formal act of the pope to crown an image of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, or St. Joseph in the name of the Holy Father.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo courtesy of the Diocese of St. Augustine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe crowning acknowledges that the specific image. . . has universal importance for the Catholic church as it pertains to the Salvation Christ won for us by the Paschal Mystery of his death and resurrection.\u201d<\/p>\n

A canonical coronation is not like a May crowning. It will happen only once and only to this specific image of Our Lady of La Leche.<\/p>\n

The coronation occurred on October 10, 2021, and the beautiful statue is now crowned as shown in the accompanying picture, making it only the fourth such statue in the United States.<\/p>\n

The colors of the statue are believed to have symbolic meaning. The cream color of Jesus\u2019 gown and blanket represent the Lamb of God. The red of Mary\u2019s robe represents the sacrifice of her son\u2019s death and the blue of her mantle represents her humanity.<\/p>\n

In this era, when women\u2019s bodies are exploited by sex trafficking and abortion, an image of Mary in a very human, maternal act like that of Our Lady of La Leche should be widely broadcast. It is a powerful Catholic statement on the critical value of women and their need for respect and protection.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you know that the oldest Marian shrine in the United States is in St. Augustine, Florida? Did you know that shrine is dedicated to Our Lady of La Leche y Buen Parto, that is, Our Lady of the Milk and Happy Delivery? It is not surprising that our oldest Marian shrine is in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4580,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[536,533,539,530,527],"class_list":["post-653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-patheos-catholic","tag-canonical-coronation","tag-marian-shrine","tag-milk-grotto","tag-our-lady-of-la-leche","tag-st-augustine"],"yoast_head":"\nOur Lady of La Leche: A Needed Image for Women<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Although it is the oldest Marian shrine in the United States, not many people know about Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine, FL, and its beautiful nursing Mary.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/2021\/12\/our-lady-of-la-leche-a-needed-image-for-women\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Our Lady of La Leche: A Needed Image for Women\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Although it is the oldest Marian shrine in the United States, not many people know about Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine, FL, and its beautiful nursing Mary.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/2021\/12\/our-lady-of-la-leche-a-needed-image-for-women\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Musings From the Pew\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lois.kerschen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-09T02:32:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1433\/2021\/12\/christmas-g763366ba0_640-300x184.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lois Kerschen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@llkerschen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lois Kerschen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/2021\/12\/our-lady-of-la-leche-a-needed-image-for-women\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/2021\/12\/our-lady-of-la-leche-a-needed-image-for-women\/\",\"name\":\"Our Lady of La Leche: A Needed Image for Women\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-09T02:32:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-09T02:32:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/#\/schema\/person\/69dc96c459773f7eaf12d1f5bdfd1d44\"},\"description\":\"Although it is the oldest Marian shrine in the United States, not many people know about Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine, FL, and its beautiful nursing Mary.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/2021\/12\/our-lady-of-la-leche-a-needed-image-for-women\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/2021\/12\/our-lady-of-la-leche-a-needed-image-for-women\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/2021\/12\/our-lady-of-la-leche-a-needed-image-for-women\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Our Lady of La Leche: A Needed Image for Women\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/musingsfromthepew\/\",\"name\":\"Musings From the Pew\",\"description\":\"Commentary on being Catholic; 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