In fulfilment of a vow made at the time of the peasant's Revolt of 1381, King Richard II solemnly renewed the offering of England to Mary as her Dowry. This was done in Westminster Abbey near the shrine of St. Edward the Confessor, who traditionally first offered England to Mary and in whose reign Our Lady appeared in 1061. The king declared in latin:
"Dos tua Virgo pia, haec est."
(This is your Dowry, Holy Virgin.)
These words were on a picture once at the English College in Rome, but sadly destroyed, which depicted King Richard II and Queen Ann his consort, kneeling before Our Lady, the King holding a patten with the above words.
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Our Lady of Walsingham by Mary's Dowry Productions
© 2011
A film that looks at 1000 years of devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham |
That mysterious treasure of the National Gallery, the Wilton Diptych, is best explained as being commissioned by King Richard to commemorate his solemn rededication in 1381.
Right side of the Wilton Diptych
(We love the Wilton Diptych and chose it as the logo for
Mary's Dowry Productions)
Left Side of the Wilton Diptych.
In 1251 Our Lady appeared in Aylesford to St. Simon stock and entrusted to him the Brown Scapular. (We love St. Simon Stock and the Brown Scapular and have including a short film about him in our DVD 'Saints of England: Volume One' so that people can have a brief introduction to his life as his mission in England and the world is important)
In 1893 Cardinal Vaughan at the request of Pope Leo XIII consecrated England and Wales to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In 1917 and 1918 Cardinal Bourne 3 times reconsecrated England and Wales to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary.
On August 19th 1934 Cardinal Bourne transferred the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham from King's Lynn to the Slipper Chapel and led the Bishops of England and Wales in a Pilgrimage of Reparation for the Reformation and Act of Supremacy, along with 10,000 pilgrims.
In 1948 Cardinal Griffin led a pilgimage of reparation for the evils of World War II. Fourteen crosses were carried to Walsingham from all parts of England and today form the Stations of the Cross at the Shrine. It was during this pilgimage that the Cardinal fulfilled the request of Our Lady of Fatima and consecrated England and Wales publically to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
On August 15th 1954 Archbishop O'Hara, the Apostolic Delegate, crowned the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham in the name of Pope Pius XII.
In 1982 Pope John Paul II during his pastoral visit to Britain, celebrated Mass in Wembley Stadium. The statue of Our Lady of Walsingham was placed upon the altar during Mass at the Pope's personal request. The presence of the statue underlined the importance of Walsingham in the life of the Catholic Church in England.
Consecration of the Nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary has been an important grace and means of intercession for England and Wales as the Dowry of Mary.
In 2007 Mary’s Dowry productions created a new form of film media to present the lives of the saints. Mary’s Dowry Productions recreates stunning silent visuals, informative, devotional narration, and original contemplative music that touches your spirit to draw you into a spiritual encounter with the saint. Watch with your spiritual eye, listen with your spiritual ear. Our films seek to offer a window into the lives of our saints. Using your spiritual senses we invite you to shut out the world, sit prayerfully and peacefully and go on a journey of faith, history and prayer with the Saints, Martyrs and Catholic heritage of England.