Our Lady of Knock of the Irish in the United States, an advocation that recalls the silent apparition of the Virgin in Knock

Patrona de Filadelfia

La advocación de Our Lady of Knock refers to the Marian apparition of the August 21, 1879 in the village of Knock, May County, Ireland, where several witnesses saw in silence the figure of the Virgin Mary next to San José, San Juan Evangelista and the Lamb of God on an altar. The Church recognizes Knock as the national Marian sanctuary of Ireland and celebrates its festive 21 August. This devotion was taken by the Irish diaspora, especially to the United States, where the Irish-American community has assumed it as one of its most beloved Marian references.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of Knock refers to the Marian apparition of the August 21, 1879 in the village of Knock, May County, Ireland, where several witnesses saw in silence the figure of the Virgin Mary next to San José, San Juan Evangelista and the Lamb of God on an altar. The Church recognizes Knock as the national Marian sanctuary of Ireland and celebrates its festive 21 August. This devotion was taken by the Irish diaspora, especially to the United States, where the Irish-American community has assumed it as one of its most beloved Marian references.

En Philadelphia (Pensilvania, United States) There is a significant presence of Catholics of Irish origin since the 19th century, with parishes, cultural centers and associations that have kept alive the memory of the Virgin of Knock. However, the available documentation does not include, with certainty, the erection of a sanctuary or parish specifically entitled "Our Lady of Knock of the Irish" in Philadelphia, nor an official date of founding a cult of its own under this title: it is rather a devotional development within the wide network of parishes and Irish centers of the city, with special sensitivity to Knock as a symbol of faith in times of persecution and emigration.

There is no local tradition or legend of Philadelphia associated with specific apparitions or miracles of "Our Lady of Knock of the Irish"; devotion is based on the original apparition of 1879 in Ireland and in the historical memory of emigration, rather than in particular local accounts.

The image and the sanctuary

En la aparición de Knockthe witnesses described a silent vision, in light relief, on the outer wall of the parish church: Holy Virgin Mary standing, crowned and with his hands raised in a prayer attitude, flanked by San José (slightly inclined towards it), San Juan Evangesta dressed as a bishop and, aside, a altar about which the Lamb of God surrounded by angels. From these testimonies, images and statues of Our Lady of Knock were spread, usually in the form of round picture (sculpture) of the Virgin standing, crowned, with white robe and mantle, in a praying attitude and with a serene face.

In Ireland, Knock Sanctuary is the national Marian sanctuary, with basilica, explanted and chapels, and welcomes more than a million pilgrims a year. In contrast, for the concrete invocation of "Our Lady of the Irish Knock" in Philadelphiathe existence of a National, diocesan or minor basilica sanctuary officially erected with that title. Devotion is expressed mainly by imágenes de Knock located in churches of Irish tradition, oratoriums, side or glass altars, rather than in an autonomous sanctuary recognized as such at national or diocesan level.

The material type of a specific main image of "Our Lady of Knock of the Irish" in Philadelphia (wood, plaster, marble, etc.) is not certain; the usual in devotional images of Knock in the diaspora is the use of common materials for parish worship (plaster or polychrome resin), replicating the iconography described in the apparition.

Sponsorship and coronation

In Ireland, Our Lady of Knock is considered patron of Marian national sanctuary and enjoys great devotion among the Irish people. Among the Irish diaspora in the United States, Knock has become an identity advocation, especially in communities in cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago or Philadelphia, although not always a formal canonical patronage, but a patronage devotional on the Irish and Irish-American community.

For the specific advocation of "Our Lady of the Irish Knock" in Philadelphia, does not contain a canonical decree of patronage (city, diocese or nation) issued by local ecclesiastical authority or by the Holy See. It is also not clear that this advocation has been officially declared the principal patron of the city of Philadelphia, the archdiocese or a wider ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

As for the canonical coronationin Knock (Ireland) the statue of the Virgin was crowned in 1954on the occasion of the Marian Year proclaimed by Pius XII. However, for the particular vocation of "Our Lady of Knock of the Irish" in Philadelphia does not contain a documented canonical coronation given by the Holy See or by pontifical delegation, nor an act of diocesan coronation with formal decree.

Party and devotion

La liturgical feast of Our Lady of Knock is celebrated the 21 Augustthe date of the apparition of 1879, and this memory has also spread in the Irish diaspora, including the Irish-American community. In parishes and communities of Irish tradition in the United States it is common to commemorate that day with Formal Mass, prayer of Rosary, processions or vigil, although the degree of solemnity varies according to local reality.

In Philadelphia, where there is a large Irish presence, Knock's advocation is often integrated into the cultural and religious celebrations of the communityalong with other Irish parties (for example, around Saint Patrick), keeping alive the link with the Irish sanctuary by means of images, prints, novies and collections for pilgrimages to the Knock shrine. There are no official data of specific influx to a sanctuary of "Our Lady of Knock of the Irish" in Philadelphia, precisely because there is no national or diocesan sanctuary recognized with that title; devotion is articulated within the broader framework of the parishes of the Archdiocese.

Among the most characteristic devotional features of this advocation, both in Ireland and in the diaspora, are the silent prayerthe Eucharistic worship (in memory of the Lamb on the altar in the vision) and the recurrence to the Virgin of Knock as consolation in situations of persecution, poverty and emigration. These spiritual notes are also often present in the Irish communities of Philadelphia, which invoke it as a special protector.

Link to the Rosary

The devotion to Our Lady of Knock is deeply rooted in spirituality Marian and Eucharistic, y el Rosary It occupies a central place in the life of the Knock shrine in Ireland, where community prayer, Marian processions and pilgrimages that include the Rosary as a preferred prayer are organized. It is reasonable to say that the Irish-American community, both in Knock and in its devotional replicas in the United States, has maintained the Rosary as a privileged way of expressing its closeness to the Virgin of Knock, although it does not contain a particular practice of the exclusive Rosary of Philadelphia.

For the local apvocation of "Our Lady of the Irish Knock" in Philadelphia, no consta un bond standardized the rite propio del Rosario other than the ordinary use of this prayer in the Latin Roman rite. However, in the Catholic experience, the Rosary This devotion naturally accompanies: by meditating on the mysteries of Christ's life with Mary, the Rosary allows us to contemplate, in the light of the apparition of Knock, the union of the Virgin with the persecuted and poor Church, the place of San José and San Juan with Mary in the mystery of salvation,