Our Lady of Peace
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Our Lady of Peace or Queen of Peace is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church. She is represented in art holding a dove and an olive branch, symbols of peace. Her official memorial feast is celebrated on January 24 each year in Hawaii and some churches in the United States. Elsewhere, the memorial feast is celebrated on July 9.
Our Lady of Peace is the patroness of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary religious order, founded by Peter Coudrin in Paris during the French Revolution. When the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary founded the Hawaii Catholic Church, they consecrated the Hawaiian Islands under the protection of Our Lady of Peace. They erected the first Roman Catholic church in Hawaii to her. Today, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu is the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.
There are three famous statues of Our Lady of Peace located in Paris and Honolulu. The original is a wooden carving located at a convent of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in France. A larger replica in bronze was hoisted above the altar and sanctuary at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. A third stands outside the cathedral on a pedestal.
The original statue of Our Lady of Peace was ceremonially crowned on July 9, 1906 by the Archbishop of Paris in the name of Pope Saint Pius X. Every July 9 since then, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Peace. During the troubled years of World War I, Pope Benedict XV added Our Lady of Peace to the Litany of Loreto, a sacred prayer in liturgy.
Pope John Paul II consecrated and dedicated the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro to Our Lady of Peace. It is the largest place of worship in Africa. Elsewhere throughout the world, there are parish churches named in honor of Our Lady of Peace in various forms, especially in Ireland and the United States.