October 3
Our Lady of
Willesden, London, England
In the summer of 1538, King Henry VIII's chief minister Thomas Cromwell
ordered England's venerated images of Mary to be removed from their
shrines—along with, of course, any treasures found with them. Among
them was the ancient black Virgin of Willesden, burned at the stake that
fall. In 1892, Catholics had a new statue made from the wood of an oak
tree growing in the cemetery of the Anglican Church of St. Mary
(right, from Standing on My Head, gkupsidedown.blogspot.com). Since
1903, the Catholic
statue goes through the streets in an annual procession on the second
Sunday in May. There is also a torchlight procession the second Sunday in
October. In
1931, the Catholic Church of Our Lady of Willesden opened in the area,
northwest of Charing Cross in outer London. On October 3, 1954, Cardinal
Bernard Griffin crowned the "Black Madonna" at a Marian Pageant
in Wembley Stadium. Eventually, the Anglicans of St. Mary's commissioned their own
Black Virgin, dedicated in 1972 (left, from the church's former website,
stmarywillesden.org.uk). In 1998 they dedicated a new Holy Well on the
grounds, renewing a tradition long associated with the Willesden
pilgrimage. The Anglican procession takes place the first weekend of July.
See also The Roman Catholic Parish of Willesden,
parish.rcdow.org.uk/willesden; and St Mary's, Willesden,
shrineofmary.org.
Also commemorated this date:
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