The image of the Virgin Mary that wept tears of blood on St. Patrick’s Day

JPII and the Weeping Irish Madonna

St. John Paul II elevated the Gyor cathedral to a basilica and visited it on Sept. 7, 1996, in an encounter with representatives of the local diocese.

“I am happy to meet you on today’s feast of the three holy martyrs of Kassa and in this cathedral so dear to you all for the presence not only of the miraculous image of the Mother of God but also of the venerated relic of the holy king Ladislaus, as well as the tomb of the Servant of God, Bishop Vilmos Apor,” the Holy Father said on that occasion.

“Your task becomes ever more urgent in the face of the new possibilities of participating in public life. In this context, the Christian layman, animated by the conviction that the growth of the Kingdom of God constitutes, at the same time, a gift and a commitment, will shun any form of fundamentalism and adopt…