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Our Lady of Sorrows (Latin: Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens, or mater dolorosa, also known as the Sorrowful Mother, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows and the Mother of Sorrows) is a devotion of the Roman Catholic Church to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The feast is celebrated on September 15.

She is the patron saint of Slovakia, the state of Mississippi, the Congregation of Holy Cross, and Mola di Bari, Italy.

Contents 1 The Seven Sorrows 2 History 3 Iconography 4 Trivia

See also Seven Dolours of the Virgin

1) The Prophesy of Simon over the Infant Jesus.

2) The Flight of the Holy Family into Egypt

3) The Loss of the Child Jesus for Three Days.

4) The Meeting of Jesus & Mary Along the Way of the Cross.

5) Mary Watches Jesus Suffer and Die upon the Cross.

6) Mary Receives the Body of Jesus Taken Down from the Cross.

7) Mary Watches as the Body of Jesus is Buried in a Tomb.

The first altar to the mater dolorosa was set up in 1221 at the monastery of Schönau. The veneration of Our Lady of Sorrows on 15 September was initiated in 1239 by the Servite order in Florence, Italy. It was made universal by Pope Pius VII in 1814. Two processions are held in Malta, one in Zebbug on the 15th of September while another one is held in St. Paul's Bay on the Sunday after the 15th September.

Another feast, established in the seventeenth century and made universal in 1727, was originally celebrated on the last Friday before Palm Sunday, or Friday in Passion Week. This feast was suppressed in the changes following Vatican II, keeping only the September feast, though processions with the statue dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows are still held in Malta and Spain.

In iconography, Our Lady of Sorrows is represented as the Virgin Mary wounded by seven swords in her heart.

This is also the name of a song by alternative rock band My Chemical Romance