Our Lady of the Dolores of Bellevue

Marian vocation of Bellevue (Ohio)

El Sorrowful Mother Shrine is located on the outskirts of Bellevue, in the state of Ohio, and is recognized as the oldest Marian shrine in the Middle West of the United States, with the beginning of its history around 1850 according to the very presentation of the sanctuary and of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. [1] [²] From its origins it is entrusted to this congregation, founded by San Gaspar del Buffalo in Italy and arrived in the United States in the mid-19th century. [²]

Main data

Origin and history

El Sorrowful Mother Shrine is located on the outskirts of Bellevue, in the state of Ohio, and is recognized as the oldest Marian shrine in the Middle West of the United States, with the beginning of its history around 1850 according to the very presentation of the sanctuary and of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. [1] [²] From its origins it is entrusted to this congregation, founded by San Gaspar del Buffalo in Italy and arrived in the United States in the mid-19th century. [²]

La documented history refers that priests of the Congregation of the Precious Blood acquired a forest near Bellevue and began to develop there a place of prayer with a grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrowsto whom they soon began to come faithful from the area and from other states. [1] [²] With the passage of time, a chapel was built, then a wider church, and stations of the Way of the Cross, grotto and spaces for prayer and pilgrimage were added, until the present set of the sanctuary was configured. [1] [²]

As regards tradition and devotional memory, reports of spiritual graces, conversions and cures received through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin in this place, especially through pilgrimages and promises. [1] However, there is no Marian apparition nor a concrete miraculous fact of a foundational character confirmed by the Church; the identity of the sanctuary is born rather from the continuity of veneration, the preaching of missionaries and the constant influx of pilgrims since the mid-19th century. [1] [²]

The image and the sanctuary

La main image venerada es la de Our Lady of Sorrowsunder the title of Sorrowful Mother (Mother Dolorosa). [1] According to the usual iconography of this advocation, it is a representation of the Virgin Mary in an attitude of pain, associated with the Seven Dolores (prophecy of Simeon, flee to Egypt, loss of the Child Jesus, encounter in the painful way, crucifixion, descent and burial). The sources of the sanctuary describe the presence of an image of the Dolored Mother on the altar and in the main grotto, although the author, exact date of size and all materials are not publicly specified. [1] [²] In the absence of precise technical data, no consta document the type of wood / stone or the sculptor of the main image.

The place of worship is officially known as Sorrowful Mother Shrine.[¹][²] Consta de: – Una iglesia or capilla principal donde se celebra la Eucaristía. – Numerosos arbolated sanders que recorren el recinto. – Varias group marianas y devocionales. – Un Via Cruces or Via Dolorosa with stations for Passion meditation. [1] [²]

The sanctuary is presented as a Marian sanctuary of pilgrimage, diocesan within the Catholic Church of Latin rite. [1] [²] It does not appear on the usual lists of minor basilics or National sanctuary official of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States, so, with the accessible data, it is a sanctuary recognized at diocesan and regional level, but no consta which has the rank of a minor basilica or a national sanctuary.

Sponsorship and coronation

La advocación de Our Lady of the Dolores of Bellevue (Sorrowful Mother Shrine) is particularly linked to the Bellevue region and surrounding area y a la Congregation of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in the United States, who venerate her as a protector of her mission and of the pilgrims who come to the place. [1] [²] No documentation submitted as official employer (by formal ecclesiastical decree) of the city of Bellevue, of a specific diocese or of the country, beyond local and regional veneration; therefore, no consta a canonically proclaimed patronage at the diocesan or national level.

On a canonical coronationneither in the sources of the sanctuary nor in the usual repertories of Marian coronations is reference to an act of pontifical canonical coronation of the image of the Dolored Mother of Bellevue. [1] [²] It should therefore be strictly stated: does not contain a documented canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

La main party of this advocation is celebrated the 15 September, in the liturgical memory of Our Lady of Sorrows according to the Roman calendar. [♪] [♪] The sanctuary organizes special celebrations around that date, Masses, moments of worship and instances of Marian prayer, with the participation of parish groups and pilgrims from different parts of Ohio and other neighbouring states. [1] [²]

During the year they are registered organized pilgrimagesspiritual retreats and individual visits, taking advantage of the natural environment of forests, trails and grotto that favour silent prayer. [1] [²] The Dolorosa and the various stations of the Way of the Cross are central elements of devotion in the sanctuary, in tune with the title of the Dolored Mother, inviting to contemplate the Passion of Christ next to the pains of Mary. [1] [²] No recent official inflow figures are available from diocesan sources or detailed statistics; therefore, no constan exact numbers of pilgrims, although usually described as a very frequent pilgrimage place in the region. [1] [²]

Between the Devotional features sobresalen: – El rezo de oraciones a la Mother Dolorosa and meditation of the Seven Dolores of Mary. – La práctica del Via Cruces en los senderos del santuario. – La recepción de los sacramentos, especialmente la confesión y la Eucaristía, en un contexto de retiro y silencio.[¹][²]

Link to the Rosary

In the available documentation of the Sorrowful Mother Shrine an exclusive link or a specific practice of Rosary associated only with this advocation that distinguishes it from other Marian shrines; therefore, no consta a tradition of the Rosary that is unique to Bellevue. [1] [²]

However, in line with the title of Our Lady of Sorrowsthe devotion of the sanctuary is naturally harmonized with the prayer of the Rosaryespecially with painful mysterieswho contemplate the Passion of the Lord in which Mary participates as Mother Dolorosa. In many shrines dedicated to the Dolores of Mary, the Rosary and the meditation of the Seven Dolores They accompany the pilgrimage, helping the faithful to join the suffering Christ and to entrust their own sufferings to the intercession of the Virgin. [♪] [♪] In this way, the Rosary, even without a locally documented exclusive ritual form, is presented as a privileged prayer to live the spirituality of this sanctuary: to contemplate, with Mary, the mystery of the cross and to find in it Christian comfort and hope.

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[1] General information of the Sorrowful Mother Shrine and the Congregation of the Precious Blood (institutional sites and divulgative material of the sanctuary). [²] Historical and pastoral data of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in the United States linked to the Bellevue shrine. [³] General Roman calendar: memory of Our Lady of the Dolores on September 15. The catechetical presentations on the liturgical memory of Our Lady of the Dolores and her relationship with the painful mysteries and the Seven Dolores of Mary.