Dear Reader,
A candle was lit for your intentions at the Shrine of Our Lady of Dublin, Whitefriars' Street Church, Dublin.
Statue history
While Fr Spratt (O.Carm.) was strolling in Capel Street Dublin, Ireland, he happened to notice a whitewashed figure of the Madonna and Child in a second-hand shop. He purchased his finding and brought the neglected statue back to Whitefriars' Street. The year was 1824.
Beneath the whitewash and grime a life-size statue of the Blessed Virgin and Child emerged, carved in oak and compared in style to the early sixteenth century sculptures in the Henry VII chapel in Westminster.
St Mary's Abbey
It is believed that the statue belonged to St Mary's Cistercian Abbey on the north bank of the River Liffey. St Mary's Abbey was a former Cistercian Abbey located near Abbey Street in Dublin. The abbatial territory stretched from the district known as Oxmanstown down along the River Liffey until it met the sea.
The Abbey also owned large estates in other parts of Ireland. St Mary's Abbey was one of several liberties that existed in Dublin since the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century, which gave it jurisdiction over its lands.
Founded by Irish King
The abbey was founded by the Irish King Mael Sechnaill mac Maele Ruanaid in 846, according to the Annals of the Four Masters. It was originally Benedictine, but in 1139 was given by Malachy O'Morga, the legate of the Pope, to monks belonging to the Congregation of Savigny, which in 1147 joined the Cistercian Order.
Pig-trough
The Abbey was surrendered in 1539 during the reformation when the last abbot, William Laundie, surrendered his title. Following the dissolution of the house, the goods and chattels were sold off by royal commissioners. Thereafter the statue - the back having been hollowed out - was used as a pig-trough in a near-by yard.
Mary's Lane chapel
The next information with regard to the statue dates back to 1749. The writer confirmed that a statue of the Virgin and Child which belonged to St Mary's Abbey at the time of the dissolution was now in "a parochial chapel" in Mary's Lane chapel.
Historical statue discarded
In 1816 the old chapel was converted into a school and the statue was discarded, later to be discovered by Fr Spratt.
Shrine of Our Lady of Dublin
In 1915 the statue was cleaned and polished and the Shrine of Our Lady of Dublin was formally established in Whitefriars' Street Church, Dublin, Ireland.
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