Sept. 3 Mother of the Good Shepherd

 

I set up a new Wikipedia page for this particular title of the BVM!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_of_the_Good_Shepherd (external link)

Our Lady, Mother of the Good Shepherd (French: Notre Dame de Brebières), or The Divine Shepherdess (French: Le Divine Bergère) is a title of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The feast day associated with this title is September 3.

Two Origins

The title is based on a statue found in the town of Albert, Somme, France. The history of this French source of the title dates back to legendary sources in the 12th century of a statue miraculously found by a shepherd.

Saint Colette, a Franciscan Poor Clare, can be credited for helping to spread of the fame of Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd at Brebieres. At age fourteen she was somewhat short and had a delicate constitution. Seeking a remedy through the favor of the Blessed Virgin, Saint Colette prayed to Our Lady of Brebieres. She not only obtained vigor and good health, she also found that several inches were miraculously added to her height.

The devotion also is found in the 18th-century writings of Capuchin Franciscans in Spain: In the year 1703, Brother Isidore of Sevilla, a great popular preacher, was inspired to be accompanied in his mission by a banner with a particular representation of the Virgin Mary: dressed in the humble clothes of a shepherdess, sitting on a rock, under a tree, wearing an ordinary wide-brimmed hat, and with some lambs portrayed around her.

A pious devotion developed around this portrayal of Mary and spread first in Spain and later in Latin America. The devotion to the "Shepherdess of Souls," which popularly became known as the "Divine Shepherdess," expanded rapidly with the creation of many groups of the faithful linked to her throughout Spain. They became known as Mary’s Flock.

The Capuchin province of Central Canada is named after Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd. To this day, all Capuchin missions around the world are entrusted to Our Lady of the Good Shepherd:

"We entrust this great undertaking to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd, who gave birth to Christ, the light and salvation of all nations, and who, on the morning of Pentecost, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, presided in prayer at the dawn of evangelization."

Feast day

While this feast is not celebrated on the universal calendar of the Catholic Church, some Spanish-speaking countries and the Philippines have various traditions and processions connected to this devotion, in addition to the French devotion. Some would commemorate this title on the Saturday before the Third Sunday of Easter, commonly called "Sunday of the Good Shepherd."