marian anniversaries     september

Saturday nearest September 8

Our Lady of La Leche, St. Augustine, Florida, USA

On September 8, 1565, Feast of the Nativity of Mary, Pedro Menendez de Aviles landed at St. Augustine, Florida, and claimed it for Spain. At the Mission of Nombre de Dios here, Spanish missionaries installed a statue of the nursing Madonna, Nuestra Señora de la Leche y Buen Parto (Our Lady of Milk and Good Childbirth). This first shrine to Our Lady in what is now the United States is still an active place of devotion, as well as a tourist attraction. On the Saturday closest to September 8, a mass is celebrated at an outdoor rustic altar to commemorate the anniversary of the first mass and founding of the mission.

Source: the shrine's website, www.missionandshrine.org