April 22
Miraculous Lady, Cicero, Illinois, USA
On Friday, April 22, 1994, two days before Orthodox Palm
Sunday, an icon of St. Mary began to weep at a church outside Chicago.
Soon after, on May 5, Metropolitan Philip, Primate of the Antiochian
Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, issued a letter to his
congregations:
... On Bright Monday, May 2nd, I and His Grace, Bishop Antoun, visited and prayed before the Weeping Icon of the Theotokos on the Iconostasis of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Cicero, Illinois. ... We have heard from several people in that community of miraculous healings taking place after they were anointed with the soft tears. We dare not explain this phenomenon. This is a supernatural invasion of the natural order. We can only repeat here one of the salutations from the Akathist Hymn: "Hail, thou that provest logicians illogical," and accept this miraculous event with faith and joy. This is indeed her gift to all of us during this holy season. I therefore designate this Icon of the Theotokos at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church as "The Miraculous Lady of Cicero, Illinois," and encourage our faithful everywhere to seek her intercessions. ... (quoted by Norman P. B. Joseph, "Weeping Icon/Archpastoral Proclamation," message to Orthodox Christianity mailing list, May 10, 1994)
Picture from St. George's Church website, www.stgeorgecicero.org.
Also commemorated this date:
 | Mary, Mother of the Society of Jesus, Jesuit order, Catholic Church |
| Notre-Dame du Peyrou, Clermont-l'Hérault, l'Hérault, Languedoc-Roussillon, France. Annual pilgrimage from Brignac to fulfill vow made during plague of 1773. |
| Gua Maria Bunda Pelindung Teluk Dalam, Pantai Trikora Teluk Dalam, Bintan, Riau, Indonesia (Grotto of the Virgin Mother of the Inner Bay). Grotto dedicated, 2001. |
| Madonna del Colletto, Frossasco, Torino, Piedmont, Italy. Church dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 1534. |
| Madonna dello Splendore, Giulianova, Teramo, Abruzzo, Italy. Festa. |
| Virgen del Humilladero, Grávalos, La Rioja, Spain (Virgin of the Wayside Shrine). Procession from shrine to village church, where statue remains until May 1. |
| Nuestra Señora de las Angustias, Arauzo de Salce, Burgos, Castile and Léon, Spain. Mass and community meal. |