Our Lady of the Fjords

Canada, Marian apparitions collection, circa 1940-2018. Marian Library, University of Dayton Libraries, Dayton, Ohio.

Country

Canada

Description

The Narrows of St. John’s is a channel that serves as the only entrance to St. John’s Harbor in Newfoundland, Canada. Back in 1905, Thomas B. Hayward looked out across the Narrows and spied an odd-looking iceberg. Taking a photograph, Hayward was stunned to see that when it was developed, there was the perfect image of the Virgin Mary. Our Lady of the Fjords appeared on June 24^th, a day with several celebrations. The first is the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, to which the name of the city is rumored to be attributed. Her appearance also coincided with the 408^th anniversary of the discovery of Newfoundland by John Cabot. Finally, it was also the day after the first Archbishop of Newfoundland, Michael Francis Howley, was installed. On June 24^th, the Archbishop received the investiture of the Pallium as the metropolitan archbishop for the new Ecclesiastical Province of Newfoundland. The Pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment worn only by the pope, metropolitan archbishops, and the Latin Rite Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Hayward was not the only person to witness the Madonna Iceburg. Crowds along the shore watched it as it floated serenely along the coast. Boats surrounded it and escorted it on its journey. Rumored to be the oldest photograph of an apparition of Mary, people who had never seen a camera were astounded when Hayward’s photograph appeared in The Newfoundland Quarterly. Archbishop Howley caught a glimpse of it on the steps of the cathedral in St. John’s. Taking it as a miraculous sign, Howley promoted the image, approving the making of post cards and even writing an article. He even penned a sonnet, naming her “the Crystal Lady”.

Citations

Canada, Marian apparitions collection, circa 1940-2018. Marian Library, University of Dayton Libraries, Dayton, Ohio.

“Our Lady of the Fjords,” WhereWeWalked online, accessed on February 23, 2018, http://www.wherewewalked.info/feasts/06-June/june_24.htm.

“The Mysterious Image of Our Lady of the Fjords, Oldest Photo of an Apparition,” ChurchPOP online, last modified July 20, 2016, https://churchpop.com/2016/07/20/mysterious-image-lady-fjords-oldest-photo-apparition/.

Researched by Jillian E. Foster

Popular Devotions

Canada, Marian apparitions collection, circa 1940-2018. Marian Library, University of Dayton Libraries, Dayton, Ohio.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee

Blessed art thou among women.

And blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners

now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

All content is used with permission

of the Marian Library at the

University of Dayton.