The Madonna’s Tears of Blood

Ireland and Hungary! Two martyr countries which, through the centuries, suffered for their faith and fought for their independence. In spite of many persecutions, the Hungarians and the Irishmen have kept an unfailing love for the Mother of God. Ireland has not been disappointed by the trust it has put in Our Lady. The case is the same for Hungary which, during the hardships that it crossed has kept faith in the hope of better days. Mary has sympathy for her children's sufferings. The following account is proof of their faith: In the cathedral of Gyor, the Christian people venerate an Irish Madonna. This painting representing a Nativity scene with the Madonna and Child was brought to Hungary in 1650, by an Irish bishop who had succeeded in escaping from Cromwell's persecution. On March 17, 1697, at the 6 o'clock a.m. mass, on Saint Patrick's feast day, (Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland), at a time when religious persecution had come to a head in Ireland, the Madonna cried tears of blood for three hours. The signed attestations of the eyewitnesses of this miracle are still kept in Gyor, in particular those of the burgomaster, the military commander, the governor, Calvinist and Lutheran ministers, as well as the city's rabbi. Since then, the devotion to the Irish Madonna has continued in Hungary and large crowds come to venerate the image hung above the high altar of the cathedral, especially on Saint Patrick's Day and Ascension Day.