This past weekend, I was blessed to travel to St. Clement's Island in Maryland with Marybeth, another woman from our ministry, to participate in the arrival of the Pilgrim Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa in North America. The Icon has covered over 40,000 miles in the From Ocean to Ocean International Campaign in Defense of Life and will be traveling throughout North America until November 2014, with Fr. Peter West , Vice President of Human Life International as her Guardian.
St. Clements Island is the original landing place of European Settlers in search of Religious Freedom. Father Andrew White, SJ, whose journal was found concerning the trip, was among those on the two ships, the Ark and the Dove. "For the Catholics aboard the Ark
and the Dove, it was to escape persecution and being marginalized socially
and economically. For Protestants, it was to seek a better life and like
their Catholic shipmates, be open to opportunities the New World offered –
opportunities that made the risks worthwhile." On the Island you can see a 40 foot white Cross marking the spot where Mass and consecration of the Holy Eucharist took place on March 25, 1634.
As patroness of our post abortion work, it was a great blessing to be able to participate in this opening event as Our Lady, whose Feast Day it is TODAY, begins her journey through North America in defense of the unborn, marriage, the elderly and sick, and those who are separated from God because of abortion.
The Knights of Columbus, getting ready to place Our Lady in the boat.
Our Lady on the boat to St. Clement's
Processing with the Image on St. Clement's
MaryBeth and I with the image.
Click here for more information about Our Lady of Czestochowa.
