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Cardigan, Wales (UK): The Welsh National Shrine of Our Lady of the Taper

The story is an old one…probably dating from the 8th Century. According to tradition, a statue of Our Lady and Child, with a burning taper in her hand, was found beside the River Teifi here in Southwest Wales. It was brought to the local parish church and subsequently moved on several occasions before a Shrine Church was built specifically to house the statue, around 1158 AD.

During the persecutions, Cromwell took the statue along with other Marian images to Chelsea and they were all destroyed in 1538.

Forgotten by many outside the area over the Centuries, it was brought to the attention of the Bishop of Menevia that the Shrine and a statue had once existed here. A new statue was created, blessed at Westminster Cathedral in London, and then taken to every parish in Menevia before being placed in Our Lady of Sorrows Church.

About the Welsh National Shrine of Our Lady of the Taper:

In 1956 a new Shrine, Our Lady of the Taper, was created. In 1986 it was declared the National Shrine for Wales by Pope John Paul II. The Shrine is a place of pilgrimage that offers Masses on Sundays as well as vigil Masses on Saturdays at Newcastle Emlyn.

Traveling to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Taper:

Address: North Road, Cardigan, Dyfed SA43 1LT

GPS coordinates: 52° 5′ 14.1108” N, 4° 39′ 9.6192” W

Tel:   +44 1239 612615

e-mail: cardiganshrine@yahoo.com

Click here for the official website of the National Welsh Shrine of Our Lady of the Taper.

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