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Today is a major feast for the reconversion of Great Britain in the New Evangelization!Most of us know the story; Our Lady appearing to Richeldis de Faverches in 1061 and taking her in spirit to the Holy House of the Annunciation in Nazareth and asking her to build a replica at Walsingham; the building of the Slipper Chapel (above) in 1340 as the last wayside chapel on the road into the town; the destruction of the monastery and use of the Slipper Chapel as a barn after Henry VIII plundered the Church through the English Reformation; the first Holy Mass to be offered post-Reformation in the Slipper Chapel by Cardinal Bourne in 1934 and the subsequent restoration and reconsecration of the Slipper Chapel.
And indeed most of us know the important role Walsingham has in the history of England and indeed Europe; being at one time right up there with Spain's Santiago de Compostella as a key pilgrimage site.
But how many of us are familiar with the iconography of the fine statue? Our Lady of Walsingham sits on the Throne of Wisdom; she is in the midst of two pillars which represent the Church as the gate of heaven; the seven rings on these pillars signify the seven Sacraments and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit; the arched back of the throne represents the rainbow which is God's sign of His Covenant; the lily has three blooms to witness that Our Lady remains the Blessed Virgin before, during and after the birth of the Saviour Jesus Christ; she crushes beneath her feet a toadstone which represents the power of evil; and finally she is crowned with an Anglo-Saxon crown because she is the true Queen of England. England is traditionally thought of as the dowry of Our Lady and for this reason the famous Catholic speaker, apologist and evangelist Raymond de Souza has launched the Walsingham Project to pray for the reconversion of England as a foundation for the reconversion of Europe. The Walsingham Project is furthering the work of Venerable Fr. Ignatius Spencer and his Prayer Crusade for the Conversion of England.
Please check out Raymond's website at www.keysofpeter.org for more information and to download the prayer that you can say to join this important mission.
May God Bless England and may Our Lady of Walsingham - Pray for us!Â
