Our Lady of Consolation or Mary, Comforter of the Afflicted (Latin: ) is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary and venerated in the Roman Catholic Church.
History
The origin of this invocation is derived from the Augustinian friars who propagated this particular devotion. Along with Saints Augustine, and Monica, Our Lady of Consolation is one of the three patrons of the Augustinian orders. The title (Comforter of the Afflicted) is part of the Litany of Loreto, and is Augustinian in origin. Devotion to Our Lady of Consolation was propagated by the Augustinian monks. By the early 18th century the custom of asking for the final blessing before death in the name of Our Lady of Consolation was very popular.
In congregations of the Augustinian Order, the "Augustinian Rosary" is sometimes called the "Crown of Our Mother of Consolation". The traditional depiction of Our Mother of Consolation in Augustinian houses show Mary holding the Child Jesus on her lap. They both hold the Augustinian cincture in their hands.
Archconfraternity
The oldest and most celebrated of these Confraternities of the Cord is probably the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Consolation, also called the Archconfraternity of the Cincture of Saint Monica, Saint Augustine and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino. In 1439, the Augustinian Order obtained the faculty to set up the Confraternity of the Cincture for lay people. Later on, it was adopted by the Hermits of Saint Augustine as a distinctive part of their habit.
The confraternity of Our Lady of Consolation was founded in 1495 in Bologna, Italy. In 1575 both confraternities merged in a single Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture. Other similar confraternities were aggregated to the Archconfraternity in Bologna.
The annual feast of the Archconfraternity is 4 September. Members are obliged to wear a black leather belt, to fast on the vigil of the feast of Saint Augustine and to recite daily the "Little Rosary of Our Lady of Consolation" which is composed of thirteen couplets of beads. The essential prayers to be said are Our Father and Hail Mary repeated thirteen times after which is recited the Hail Holy Queen.
For the erection of and reception into this archconfraternity, special faculties must be had from the prior general. The headquarters of the society is the Church of Sant'Agostino, Rome where the body of Saint Monica lies.
Marian Cult and Veneration
The feast of Our Lady of Consolation is observed in several Catholic countries within orders or religious institutes.
The Order of Saint Augustine observe it on September 4. The Order of Friars Minor Conventual observe it on May 25 The Order of Saint Benedict on July 5.
In Malta, the feast is celebrated on the last Sunday of October with pyrotechnic displays by Our Lady of Consolation Fireworks Factory. The Feast Day in Rome for Our Lady of Consolation is January 31; in the United States it is the Saturday after the Feast of Saint Augustine (August 28).
Argentina
Pope Benedict XVI granted a decree of canonical coronation for the venerated 17th-century image of Our Lady of Consolation in Sumampa, Argentina, on 21 November 2009.
Belgium
Pope Pius X granted a decree of pontifical coronation on 19 June 1907 towards a Pietà image dating from 1535 in the Franciscan church of Leuven. The image, also known as “Our Lady of Koorts” or “Our Lady of Fever” due to its longstanding claim to heal the sick, was renamed Our Lady of Consolation of the Afflicted by popular demand.
France
Stanbrook Abbey was founded in 1623 at Cambrai as the monastery of "Our Lady of Consolation", for English Catholic expatriates.
Pope Innocent X encouraged the devotion to Our Lady of Consolation by establishing a French confraternity in 1652. Pope Pius IX granted a canonical coronation to an image with the title of "Our Lady, Consoler of the Afflicted" in Verdelais on 2 July 1856. Pope Pius X granted a decree of coronation to another image of Our Lady of Consolation in Hyeres on 21 June 1909. Pope Pius XI raised the shrine in Verdelais to the status of Minor basilica via the Pontifical decree Exstat in Civitate on 1 February 1924.
The dioceses of Vannes, Valence, Montpelier, Laval, Nantes, Périgueux, Tours and many others, dedicated churches or chapels to Our Lady of Consolation.
Germany
Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted is venerated in the Marian Basilica of Kevelaer. In 1642 a copperplate engraving, representing Our Lady of Luxembourg, was installed in a sanctuary erected the same year. It is one of the best visited Catholic pilgrimage locations in north-western Europe.