Holy statue in Paisley
A religious statue with a long history is on display in Paisley.
Our Lady of Aberdeen is a colourful statue of the Virgin Mary and Christ child that depicts them as gloriously crowned figures.
The statue is now at St Mirin’s Cathedral and will stay there until Holy Week, which starts on Sunday, March 25.
The Scottish Bishops’ Conference has given permission for the statue to visit from its home in St Machar’s Cathedral, Aberdeen, as part of a programme of prayer for the conversion of Scotland.
A message on the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paisley website says: “Everyone is welcome to come and venerate this special statue.
“The image of Our Lady of Aberdeen has now become widely recognised as our Scottish national image of Our Lady.”
It was in 1490 that the original statue was sculpted, although its then title is not known.
It is, however, referred now to as Our Lady of Aberdeen.
St Machar’s Cathedral was sacked in 1560 as part of the turbulence of the Reformation.
But the statue survived and was hidden for three generations by the Gordons of Huntly.
In the first quarter of the 17th century, the statue was sent to Flanders for safe keeping.
The Spanish Archduchess Isabella, who ruled the Low Countries, attributed the winning of a battle to the arrival of the statue.
She renamed her‘Notre Dame du Bon Success’ (Our Lady of Good Success).
The Paisley diocese website says:“This pious princess, with her own hands, placed on the venerated statue, a robe glittering with gold, precious stones and her own most costly jewels.
“Isabella recreated the statue into a royal statue to be processed and placed in her palace.“
The statue was hidden for a second time during the French Revolution.
In 1835 she was refitted with new crowns and sceptre.
It’s permanent home is in Notre Dame Du Finistere, Brussels.