Promoter of image is Albany native

That may sound like a fairy tale, but it's the true story of Daniel J. Lynch, an Albany native who now resides in St. Albans, Vermont and is a part-time probate judge in Grand Isle County. The woman is Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his special devotion is to her as Our Lady of Guadalupe.

On August 3, he will tell his story when he speaks at Blessed Sacrament Church, Albany, after a 7 p.m. Mass. He will talk about Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Holy Father's plans for the third millennium.

Image of interest

The image shows Mary as she appears on a peasant's cloak. In 1531, Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego several times, telling him to go to the bishop in Mexico City and request that a church be built in her honor. She promised to provide a miracle needed to convince the bishop to do so.

Her image imprinted on the cloak was part of the miracle; as a result, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe was eventually built.

Curiosity

"Since Our Lady of Guadalupe represents the modern-day mission to respect human life and put an end to abortion, and also offers hope to people who are suffering, it seemed to directly tie in with what I was involved in at the time," he said.

Once he saw the image and learned the reason it had been commissioned by the Mexican bishops, he realized that there was no direction or plan for how the image would be used in the U.S.

"I volunteered my time and efforts to help develop some sort of a schedule where the image might be able to travel to areas in this country, where people might be interested in starting a devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe," he said. "I expected just a few calls. When I got home, my desk was full. We began there; and to this day, it has been non-stop."

Replica

Over the past ten years, the missionary image has visited every state in the U.S. and more than 1,000 parishes. Over 100,000 people have viewed it.

According to Mr. Lynch, the image visits "nursing homes, hospitals, convents, churches -- anywhere it is requested," usually staying anywhere between one and two weeks (see separate schedule for the locations of its visit to the Albany Diocese between now and August 7).

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