Bishops around country CONSECRATE U.S. to Mary amid COVID-19 pandemic "Bishops throughout the United States reconsecrated the COUNTRY TO MARY as the nation continues to struggle in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Bishops in Canada also used May 1 to rededicate their country to the Blessed Mother. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, led a “Renewal of the Consecration of the United States of America to the Blessed Virgin Mary” May 1. The sparse, 37-minute ceremony at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles was livestreamed on Facebook, YouTube and the websites of the Los Angeles Archdiocese and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Alternating between English and Spanish, Archbishop Gomez said: “In this difficult time we turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of the church. She intercedes with her son for all are affected in this way by the pandemic. … We implore her maternal care for her children.” Archbishop Gomez noted Mary’s history in the United States. “The first missionaries came to this country under the mantle of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Later, the bishops consecrated her as patroness of the United States of America,” he said. “The Virgin Mary has accompanied this great nation SINCE OUR BEGINNINGS,” he added. “Now in this difficult hour, we renew our consecration to her.” https://thecatholicspirit.com/news/nation-and-world/bishops-around-country-consecrate-u-s-to-mary-amid-covid-19-pandemic/ "A beautiful Lady appeared to George Washington, the Father of our Country, and gave him aid, comfort and help in the dark days of the Revolutionary War when it appeared to him with his half frozen and half starved Continental Army that all was lost. We of course know that all was not lost, and that with the aid of the Madonna Maria all was saved, the war was won and through the help of God and the Madonna Maria, a new nation was born." George Washington’s Portrait of Our Lady Back at Mount Vernon "George Washington’s Mount Vernon: Throughout the year, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association is delighted to welcome members of the Washington and Custis families to Mount Vernon. One such family visit, however, will remain especially memorable. In November 2003, when a group of descendants of John Augustine Washington III came to Mount Vernon, one family member brought with her a photograph of a work of art in her possession. It was a beautiful pastel of the Virgin Mary, a painting that the Washingtons hung in the mansion’s large dining room. Now, more than 200 years after George and Martha’s deaths and a voyage through several generations of this distinguished family, the Virgin Mary returned home just before Christmas 2003, through the extraordinary generosity of Maud T. Drane, a great-great-granddaughter of John A. Washington III, the last private owner of Mount Vernon. More here and from our website here." https://catholicism.org/george-washingtons-portrait-of-our-lady-back-at-mount-vernon.html