An Our Lady of Vilnius parishioner called my attention to this coin, which is for sale on E-Bay. Apparently the coin was issued by the Republic of Palau in 2009. It is no longer surprising to me that devotion to Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn is so far-flung. In 2005, while St. Stanislaus Kostka was still open, I sat next to a visiting priest, Father Joseph,and showed him pictures of Our Lady of Vilnius church on Broome Street. He immediately identified our altar icon as "Our Lady of Ostra Brama," with whom he was familiar from his boyhood church in Indonesia. I was happy to imagine her serenely gazing over a congregation on the other side of the world.
The text associated with the coin for sale on E-Bay is taken from Wikipedia's entry for Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn and makes brief mention to the closure of our Broome Street church, which it once referenced as one of the of the "Shrines in Other Locations."
Though US currency bears "In God We Trust" (and so do our courtroom walls), the relationship between church and state is always controversial in this country. It is interesting that Palau minted a coin bearing an image of Our Lady.
1 comment:
wow..this is amazing that a coin bears the image of Our Lady. Any updated on Our Lady of Vilnius? When will it open again??
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