Our Lady of Mary Lanzendorf

Marian vocation of Maria Lanzendorf (Lower Austria)

En el village of Maria Lanzendorfin the state of Austrian steel, there has been an important place of Marian pilgrimage in the vicinity of Vienna, known as Sanctuary of María Lanzendorf (Mary Lanzendorf's pilgrimage church). The devotion developed around a Marian image considered miraculous in the 17th century, which gave rise to the sanctuary and the influx of pilgrims; local studies describe the place as an old Marian pilgrimage center of the Viennese periphery, especially active in Baroque times. Since the sources available online do not accurately detail the first documented date of the cult or the name of the author of the painting, no accurate and verified time data about the beginning of devotion beyond the generic reference to the 17th century.

Main data

Origin and history

En el village of Maria Lanzendorfin the state of Austrian steel, there has been an important place of Marian pilgrimage in the vicinity of Vienna, known as Sanctuary of María Lanzendorf (Mary Lanzendorf's pilgrimage church). The devotion developed around a Marian image considered miraculous in the 17th century, which gave rise to the sanctuary and the influx of pilgrims; local studies describe the place as an old Marian pilgrimage center of the Viennese periphery, especially active in Baroque times. Since the sources available online do not accurately detail the first documented date of the cult or the name of the author of the painting, no accurate and verified time data about the beginning of devotion beyond the generic reference to the 17th century.

Tradition / legend: The local tradition shows that a painting of the Virgin Revered in Mary Lanzendorf, she began to be miraculous, quickly attracting faithful from the Vienna region and from other places in Austria. In the context of the Baroque religiosity of the Habsburg, this kind of graces and miracles associated with Marian images was a regular engine for the emergence of pilgrimage shrines in the Austrian and Central European context. However, in the specific case of Maria Lanzendorf, do not contain in the sources consulted precise and verifiable details about a specific foundational miracle, names of beneficiaries or documented canonical processes.

Documented history: Historically, the church of Maria Lanzendorf is documented as Baroque Marian shrine of pilgrimage in Baja Austria, with remarkable development from the 17th to 18th centuries, in the surroundings of the large network of Austrian Marian shrines (such as Mariazell, etc.). The current structures correspond to an extended and enriched baroque church over time; however, accessible sources do not provide, in a verifiable way, exact dates of foundation, consecration or concrete interventions of religious or mecena orders, so do not accurately record these data.

The image and the sanctuary

The sources consulted describe Maria Lanzendorf as place of Marian pilgrimage en torno a una image of the Virgin originally in painting, which emerged in the 17th century and was considered miraculous, but does not contain a detailed, secure and updated description of the iconographic type (for example, Virgin with Child, Dolorosa, etc.), or of the material or dimensions of the image now venerated in the sanctuary. This is why, beyond saying that it is a Marian image of pictorial origin associated with miracles in the Baroque era, no precise iconographic data in accessible sources.

The temple is known as Pilgrimage church of Mary Lanzendorf (Wallfahrtskirche Maria Lanzendorf), located in the municipality of María Lanzendorf, Baja Austria. This is a Baroque temple which was consolidated as a regional Marian sanctuary, with typical structure and ornamentation of the Austrian baroque (articulated facade, rich interior decoration, side altars, etc.), in which the image of the Virgin occupies a central place of veneration. The sources consulted do not indicate that the temple has been raised to the rank of the lower basilica or that it has an official title of national sanctuaryso, with the available data, it can be described as diocesan / regional pilgrimage sanctuary or churchwithout an explicitly documented higher canonical rating.

Sponsorship and coronation

As for patronage, the Virgin venerated in Mary Lanzendorf is spiritual patron of the pilgrimage and the municipality of María Lanzendorfin the local devotional sense. They do not contain, in the sources consulted, explicit statements that submit it as principal patron of a diocese, of the Austrian nation or of a wider region, unlike other Marian claims of Austria (e.g. Mariazell as a national sanctuary). It can therefore be said rigorously that the patronage is mainly local and regional, linked to the people and the tradition of pilgrimages in the surroundings of Vienna.

With regard to a possible canonical coronation of the image (i.e. by the mandate of the Pope or by decree of the Holy See, executed by a delegate, bishop or other prelate), does not contain a documented canonical coronation in the verified sources. There are no secure references to date, pontiff or corresponding decree, so it is not possible to attribute an official canonical coronation with historical rigor.

Party and devotion

La the main feast of Our Lady of Mary Lanzendorf se celebra el September 8, coinciding with the Nativity of the Virgin Maryone of the great Marian parties of the Roman liturgical calendar. On this date, solemn celebrations are traditionally organized in the sanctuary, with Eucharist, processions and acts of pilgrimagewho come to the faithful from the town and other parts of Lower Austria and the Vienna area. Although devotion has known different moments of boom and decline throughout history, the sanctuary remains as significant place of regional Marian pilgrimage.

Sources available online do not provide accurate and recent statistics of the influx of pilgrimsnot a very detailed description of the popular practices of the place (promises, concrete exvotes, particular forms of procession, etc.). However, by analogy with other Baroque Marian shrines of Austria (data of general, non-specific context of Maria Lanzendorf), it is reasonable to say that devotion includes elements such as the prayer to the image of the Virgin, burning of candles, presentation of exvotes of thanks for favors received and participation in organized pilgrimages from parishes of the region. These features, common in the Austrian context, fit the condition of Maria Lanzendorf as an ancient place of Marian pilgrimage.

Link to the Rosary

The sources consulted do not explicitly mention a particular or historical relationship between Our Lady of Mary Lanzendorf's advocation and the Rosary's prayersuch as the existence of a specifically documented Rosary fellowship, a feast of the Rosary or an official title linked to this prayer. Therefore, no specific and documented link to the Rosary beyond the general practice of Marian piety.

However, in the Catholic spirituality, the Rosary It naturally accompanies devotion to Mary in any Marian sanctuary, also in Austria. The Rosary allows to meditate on the mysteries of Christ's life with the eyes of the Virginin continuity with the contemplative tradition of the Church. In a sanctuary like Mary Lanzendorf, dedicated to the Mother of God and born of the experience of a miraculous image, the prayer of the Rosary becomes a privileged form of:

– Unite one's own life to the mysteries of Christ, pidiendo la intercesión de María. – Thank you and thank you recibidos ante la imagen venerada. – Sustaining the inner pilgrimage of conversion and trust, which corresponds to the pilgrimage outside the sanctuary.

Thus, even without a specific historical link documented, the Rosario is naturally integrated in devotion to Our Lady of Mary Lanzendorfas a simple and profound expression of the love of the Virgin and of the faith in her intercession.