The Irish Madonna In Hungary

by Mgr Louis Page

In a side chapel of the cathedral of the Diocese of Győr, in the city of Győr, in Hungary, is a beautiful picture of our Blessed Lady and Child, which the people of that country call The Irish Madonna, and which they venerate under the title of Comforter of the Afflicted. It is there since the seventeenth century, and was once the cherished possession of an Irish bishop, Dr. Walter Lynch, who was bishop of the diocese of Clonfert from the year 1647 to his death, in exile, in Győr on the 14th July, 1663.

Who was this bishop Walter Lynch and how did he happen to die there so far away from his diocese in Ireland?

While there is no precise recorded knowledge as regards the date of his birth or of his family, it is accepted that he belonged to an important Galway family of Norman descent, and that he was born in the early part of the 17th century, in the city of Galway. He received his early education in Galway and then, because it was not possible in those days in Ireland, he had to go to the continent of Europe to train for the priesthood, where in due course he was ordained a priest. He returned to Galway and took up his priestly duties in his native city. At that time there was no diocese of Galway. Instead there was in the city what was known as the Wardenship of Galway, centred on the Collegiate church of St. Nicholas to which a number of neighbouring parishes were attached. The principal priest was known as the Warden. In due course Dr. Walter Lynch was appointed Warden. On the diocese of Clonfert becoming vacant, following the transfer of Bishop John Burke to the Archdiocese of Tuam, Walter Lynch was appointed bishop of Clonfert in March 1647.

It was a very disturbed and difficult time in Ireland in those days. A state of war was in existence since the Rising of 1641, when the Catholics began their attempt to gain religious freedom and to try to win back the lands taken from them in the plantations of the previous years.

At this time the struggle was being carried on by the forces under the direction of the Catholic Confederation formed earlier in Kilkenny. Bishop Lynch soon became involved and took an important part in the deliberations of the Kilkenny Confederation. He appears to have been highly esteemed among that body. However, owing to disunity and divisions within the Confederation, and the arrival of Oliver Cromwell with an army of 20,000 men, and the untimely death of Owen Roe O'Neill, the ablest leader of the Confederate forces, the Catholic cause began to fail and eventually collapsed. Bishop Lynch was forced to leave his diocese and took refuge in Galway City. After a fruitless resistance, Galway had to surrender to the Cromwellian army. Meanwhile, to avoid capture, Bishop Lynch had left Galway and made his way to Innisbofin, from where he eventually succeeded in getting away on a ship to the Continent of Europe, and eventually found asylum in Belgium.

It is not known how long he stayed in Belgium, but it is on record that during his time there, he ordained a number of his fellow countrymen in the priesthood.

Little else is known about his movements or how long he remained in Belgium, but in 1655 he had come to Vienna. It was here that he met a Hungarian bishop, who was to befriend and invite him to come to his diocese. This was Bishop John Pusky, Bishop of Győr. On his coming to Győr, Bishop Pusky appointed Dr. Lynch a canon of his Cathedral Chapter, and also had him assist in the work of his diocese.

Meanwhile conditions had begun to improve for Catholics at home in Ireland. Cromwell died and the king, Charles II was back on the throne in England. There was some relaxation of the laws against Catholics, so that Bishop Lynch decided to return and resume his diocese. Sadly, however, he was destined never to see his native land again. As he was preparing to set out on his journey home to Ireland, he died unexpectedly on the 14th July 1663, in the city of Győr, which had given him welcome and hospitality in his exile, and there his body now lies. Amongst the few personal possessions of Dr. Lynch at the time of his death was a beautiful painting of the Madonna and Child. He is said to have had a great love and devotion for this picture. After his death the picture was placed over a side altar in a side chapel in the Cathedral. It is still in the same place today but now in a beautiful shrine richly adorned. It would, probably, have remained there without receiving much notice or honour, were it not for a very wonderful occurrence there on St. Patrick's Day, thirty-four years later. What happened on that day was to gain for the picture nationwide attention and make it a source of great devotion to Mary, Comforter of the Afflicted and its shrine a place of pilgrimage ever since. This is what is believed to have happened. Early on the morning of the 17th March 1697, as Mass was being offered in the Cathedral, what appeared to be a sweat of blood or of tears was noticed on the picture. Naturally this caused great excitement and a feeling of awe among the people who were present.

To examine the picture more closely, to see whether it was real or imaginary, it was taken down, and according to the recorded testimony of some of those who witnessed the event and who examined the picture at close range, there was a liquid substance like sweat or tears and the colour of blood on the picture. A linen cloth was used to dry the liquid which, it is recorded, continued to appear for about two hours. The cloth used to dry the liquid is preserved in a silver and glass casket in the Cathedral, where one can see it to this day. A discolouration on the linen cloth does appear like a bloodstain. An inscription on the casket reads: "This is the true cloth which was used to dry the blood, which this picture shed in this church on St. Patrick's Day, 1697."

Following this strange and seemingly miraculous event, devotion to the Irish Madonna, as it came to be called, grew greatly. A special shrine was made and adorned for the picture. It was only then, since now it had become a much-honoured shrine, that the crowns were added to the heads of each of the figures. The centenary of the occurrence was celebrated in 1797, and the second centenary in 1897, and in 1947 the 250th anniversary was celebrated, when it is estimated 100,000 pilgrims visited the shrine. If one accepts as real and true what is recorded to have occurred in Győr Cathedral on St Patrick's Day, 1697, one might well ask why such a thing should happen, or wonder was it a sign from heaven. God alone knows. There is, however, a strange and significant fact that would incline one to think that it was a sign from God. The fact is that on that very day and date, the Protestant Parliament, then in power in Ireland, convened in Dublin and began to introduce and pass the most iniquitous laws, known as the Penal Laws, which were designed to put an end to the practice of the Catholic religion in Ireland and deprive the Catholic people of all their civil rights. Was it, then, a sign of our Blessed Lady's concern and sorrow for the people of Ireland who were to suffer so much during the years that were to follow. Who knows? All we can do is wonder why such a thing should happen, and thank God and Its Blessed Mother that, in spite of all they had to endure, they survived and remained true to their faith.

The people of Hungary, too, have had to suffer for their faith in later and in more recent times, and they, too, have remained faithful. Devotion to Mary, the Mother of God, is a notable feature of both our nations. May they and we continue in our devotion to Mary, and may her shrine in Győr continue to remind us, how an exiled Irish bishop found welcome and hospitality in a foreign land in those far off unhappy days.