The Catholic Church has planned from late 2017 to re-dedicate England as Mary’s Dowry on 29 March 2020, which is the Sunday following the feast of the Annunciation (25 March). The original dedication of England to Mary was made by King Richard II in 1381 at Westminster Abbey, an event commemorated in the Wilton Diptych, which is kept in the National Gallery. 
 
The 2020 rededication was supposed to be held simultaneously in the Walsingham shrine and in all churches and cathedrals in England. Walsingham was founded almost 1,000 years ago and is one of the oldest shrines in the world dedicated to Mary. In the Middle Ages it ranked with Jerusalem, Rome and Compostela as one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Christendom. 
 
With the closing of all churches from Monday night, the rededication will now be an individual event taking place in hundreds of thousands of homes up and down the country on Sunday 29 March.
 
At noon on Wednesday 25 March, Ireland and its people will be consecrated to Mary for strength and protection from the coronavirus. Also on 25 March, in the evening, Spain and Portugal will be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at Fatima, the site of the apparitions of Mary in 1917. In France, the shrine of Lourdes closed for the first time in its history last week and French bishops asked Catholics to pray to Our Lady of Lourdes for help in the crisis. In Rome, Pope Francis went on pilgrimage on foot to the church of St Mary Major to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. With all these different dedications, the term “Mother of God” was trending on Twitter on Thursday 19 March.
 
Cardinal Vincent Nichols said: “What can I contribute to that Dowry? It will be different for each one of us. It might be our patience, our dependency on God and on others that I can offer; Or the skills and efforts of my work. Or I may make a special gift to her of my best attempts at prayer, or at the service I give to those in need. We are Mary’s Dowry! Please enrich that Dowry by offering to her the best that you can give. She will stretch her protective mantle over our land and over all who live here.”
 
In a joint statement of the Anglican and Catholic shrines at Walsingham, Fr Kevin Smith and Mgr John Armitage said: “Today, fear and uncertainty about the future is affecting millions of lives around the world and within our own communities and families. We see in Mary one who was not shielded from life’s pain and difficulties… This is why we can look to Mary with confidence and trust in times of sorrow and joy, because she has the wisdom of a Mother who knows what we are experiencing, who loves and protects her children.”
 

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