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Four Centuries Ago in France

The Dukes of Joyeuse held in veneration a modest-sized statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary entitled Our Lady of Peace. The family agreed that the person among them showing the most sincere devotion to Our Lady should hold custody of the statue. When a member of the family joined the Order of Friars Minor, Capuchin (Franciscans), the statue was placed in the entryway niche of the Capuchin monastery of Paris. The year was 1630.    

The memoirs of the time indicate that for several years the statue was surrounded by brilliant light during the night. The statue attracted vast crowds, including pilgrimages to the statue and public prayers. Sick people are reported to have been miraculously cured there.

Solemnly Dedicated Public Devotion:
9 July 1651

Because of the immense crowds gathering for devotion and healing, the statue was moved into the Capuchin church in 1651. A side chapel was constructed there expressly for Our Lady of Peace. King Louis XIV and Queen Marie Therese were present for the dedication, along with a throng of dignitaries, as the statue was processed from the main altar of the church to the new side chapel. There the statue remained until 1790.

To the Picpus Convent in Paris When the Capuchin Fathers were forced from their monastery during the French Revolution, they gave the statue to pious ladies for safekeeping. A Madame de Yuynes held is for a time, as did a Madame Coipel. The latter of these thought the statue at risk and wished it to be in safer keeping. Through a priest, Abbe Coudrin, the statue was eventually entrusted to the care of Very Reverend Mother Henriette Aymer, the foundress of the Sacred Heart Sisters at Paris.

Since May 6, 1806, the statue of Our Lady of Peace has been at the Convent of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in the Picpus area of Paris. It was at risk only once.

In 1871, the French populace, incited by atheistic leaders, invaded churches, chapels and convents to destroy religious emblems. The Picpus Convent superior at the time begged the mob with tears to spare the statue of Our Lady of Peace. The rabble went away, leaving the statue unharmed.

The Statue Crowned

On 9 July 1906, Archbishop François-Marie-Benjamin Richard de la Vergne solemnly crowned the statue of Our Lady of Peace in the name of Pope Pius X. The Congregation of the Fathers and Sisters of the Sacred Heart celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Peace solemnly every year on July 9.

The Hawaii Connection

The Cathedral of the Diocese of Honolulu, Hawaii, is dedicated to Our Lady of Peace. French missionaries, Fathers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, landed their ship in Honolulu Bay in 1827 just before July 9, the feast of Our Lady of Peace. They dedicated their missionary endeavor to our Lady of Peace, and they dedicated the first church in Hawaii to her patronage. This church today is the oldest cathedral in the United States.    

The Honolulu Cathedral has a statue of Our Lady of Peace in a niche on the high altar and a large bronze copy in the cathedral courtyard.

The Appearance of the Statue

The original statue of Our Lady of Peace is about two feet in height. In her right hand, the Virgin holds an elegantly long and fruitful olive branch of peace. On her left arm she holds her son. The child Jesus holds an orb - the blue planet - in his left hand and a little cross in his right. He gazes upon the cross in his right hand, which proclaims both his suffering and his triumph, even as he gazes behind it toward the fruitful olive branch of peace in his Mother's right hand.

Our Lady of Peace is a Mother who gazes upon us and presents her son to us and to the world. And the postures of Mother and Son are eloquent. They proclaim to us: if you want peace (the olive branch), then work for justice (the cross). If you want serenity and tranquility in God, then order your relationships rightly for the sake of building up the common good.

The Parish's Celebration and Image

A shrine to Our Lady of Peace - a copy of the Paris and Honolulu original statue - was erected in the parish church I January 2006, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and the World Day of Peace. Standing at the church's main entry, placed on a purple granite base, surrounded by thirty-two vigil lights, Our Lady of Peace and her pedestal are eight feet tall. She is a memorial gift honoring the memory of founding trustee Harry C. Sweere (1934-2005).

The parish community celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Peace each year as a local solemnity on the Sunday closest to July 9. This solemn festival is celebrated with a festive Eucharist and an Ice Cream Social. She is remembered also every January 1 with a festival Eucharist followed by a champagne brunch.

Please pray to Our Lady of Peace that this parish community, and the entire world with us, will become a people of peace.