Our Lady of Consolation

For this Year of Mercy our Bishop has had the inspired idea of having the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy (one of her many titles), visit all the parishes of Arundel & Brighton Diocese  – not in person of course, but as an icon image of Our Lady of Consolation.

So it was that, on Monday evening this week, around 20 parishioners sat in the front few pews of the darkened church of the Sacred Heart. In front of us was the altar, on which stood two candles, and immediately before it were two more candles flanking the icon of Mary, Our Lady of Consolation, which was ours for 24 hours before moving on to the next parish. 

The icon normally resides in the Parish and Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in West Grinstead, which is about 20 miles NNW of Brighton. The Shrine was the first Catholic one to be built in honour of Our Lady since the Reformation. When the church was built in 1876 the priest, Mgr Jean-Marie-Denis, searching for a title for the shrine, chose one that was well-known on the continent as it would have the advantage of well-established prayers, privileges and blessings. His choice was the famous and long-venerated  Consolata of Turin. An artist was selected to paint a copy of the icon in Turin, which was then placed in the West Grinstead Shrine Church.

According to legend, the original icon in Turin (now in the minor basilica of the Santuario della Consolata, Turin) was painted by St. Eusebius of Vercelli in the fourth century. The picture was then lost sight of for several hundred years until the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Ardoin, the last King of Italy in 1004 and asked him to restore her image. He did so and it was visited by many pilgrims and numerous miracles were recorded.

Early writers such as St. Benignus state that the name ‘Our Lady of Consolation’ was specifically bestowed on the icon by the Blessed Virgin, the first (and only) time she has named an icon.

Around the year 1080 wars, invasions, famine and pestilence spread ruin and devastation throughout the land and many buildings, including the chapel in Turin that contained the icon, fell into ruin.   

In 1104 the Blessed Virgin appeared to a blind man and asked him, if he wished to restore his sight, to journey to Turin and search for the miraculous picture. As his brothers thought him mad, he prevailed upon a servant girl to accompany him and, when he was within a mile of Turin, his eyes were opened and he saw a brilliant sun shining over a ruined chapel. His sight lasted only momentarily but, undaunted, he was led to spot and knelt in prayer – whereupon his sight was immediately and permanently restored.

The local bishop was persuaded to excavate the area and the icon was soon found, the chapel was restored and lots of miraculous healings followed. And so it remained until the nineteenth century when they were looking for a patron for the new church in West Grinstead. Nice story, eh?