Our Lady of ChinaThe Great Mother (Latin: Nostra Domina de Sina) also known as Our Lady of Donglü is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a reputed Marian apparition in Donglü, Hebei province, China. In 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, a great number of soldiers attacked the village of Donglü, Hebei. The village consisted of a small community of Christians founded by the Vincentian Order of priests. Pious legends claim that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in white with a fiery horseman (believed to be Saint Michael the Archangel) who chased away the soldiers. The local priest, Father Rene Flament of the Congregation of the Mission hired a local French painter in Shanghai to make a Marian statue similar to the Chinese dowager Empress Ci Xi. This image was based on the Marian image of “Our Lady of Laeken” venerated in the Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium. The Donglu statue was later destroyed in 1966 during the Cultural Revolution. A similar painting was reconstructed in 1989 now in its place. Accordingly, Donglu became a place of pilgrimage in 1924. The image was blessed and promulgated by Pope Pius XI in 1928. Pope Francis granted an official decree of canonical coronation on 19 February 2021 towards a Marian image venerated at the National Shrine of Our Lady of China in Chiayi County, Taiwan. The rite of coronation was executed on 14 August 2022. Our Lady of China |