On St Patrick’s Day 1697, Mass was being celebrated at 6am in the Cathedral of Gyor in Hungary. Many were present and observed a bloody sweat to come over the figure of Our Lady in a painting which was known as “Our Lady of Consolation” or “The Irish Madonna”.
When the painting was wiped and the blood removed by linen cloths, the sweat broke out again and continued for three hours. Crowds began to rush to the church. The painting was removed from its place in the presence of the crowd. “It is impossible to describe the commotion which arose from the populace in order to see the picture close at hand.” The Ecclesiastical authorities first had the picture taken down from the wall, then denuded of the ornamental frame, even stripped off the stretching lathe and finally closely inspected. It was free of natural moisture, and the wall was quite dry and, moreover, being detached and held by the hands of a priest alone over a table, it ceased not to sweat blood. This manifestly constituted a miracle.
The picture became the subject of great devotion down through the centuries. A special altar was built to honour it. Many traditions have developed relating to the painting. The picture is 26 inches high and 20 inches in breadth.
It had been taken to Gyor by Walter Lynch, the Bishop of Clonfert from 1647-1651. He had been the Warden of Galway from about 20 years previously. When Cromwell entered Connacht, Lynch escaped from Galway to Inishboffin; from there he got on to a ship to Belgium and then went on to Gyor. All through his travels, he clung on to this one possession.
It is known that before Cromwell, the Lynch family built the Lady Chapel in Saint Nicholas’ Collegiate Church. ‘Our Lady of the Manger’ was their special devotion. This chapel is also where the “empty frame” is preserved. Tradition has it that this was the frame in which the picture was held. The frame is of stone and inset into the wall, surrounded by the Lynch Arms. It has never been removed. It is likely that it escaped the plundering of the Cromwellians simply because it was empty. The dimensions of the painting suit perfectly those of the painting, and so many contend that this miraculous image came from Galway. It is occasionally referred to as “Our Lady of Galway”.
The reported weeping took place on the Feast of St Patrick during a period when severe anti-Catholic laws were being enacted in Ireland. In Hungary, the image acquired its own significance after some 150 years of foreign oppression and suffering. In this way, the painting became part of the religious memory of two peoples whose histories had now persecution, displacement and loss.
Some time ago, Bishop András Veres of Gyor presented our Bishop, Michael Duignan with a replica of the image as a gift in recognition of that historic connection and on Sunday next, October 4 at 6pm, the solemn enshrinement of Our Lady of Gyor, now known as ‘Consoler of the Afflicted’ will take place with Bishop Michael Duignan conducting the service, and all are welcome.
For Fr. John Gerard, Diocesan Secretary and Moderator of the Curia, the title Consoler of the Afflicted gives the new shrine a simple purpose, “People come to the Cathedral carrying so much with them. They come with illness and bereavement, worries about children and family, loneliness, uncertainty and prayers which perhaps they cannot easily put into words. We hope people will come before Our Lady here, light a candle and entrust those intentions to her Prayers.”
In the words of Bishop Michael Duignan, “In the silence of her tears, she calls out to us and to our entire world – no matter what, never lose hope! – never yield to despair! – God is with you! – God is powerfully on your side!”
Our photographs show the image of the replica painting and also, the special shrine.
