A Witness to Our Lady of La Leche’s Intercession
 

In 2015, during the Jubilee Year of Mercy, my daughter was expecting her fifth child.  It was a high-risk pregnancy, potentially life-threatening to my daughter and her unborn baby.  When I asked for prayers for my daughter and grandchild from the members of my Lay Dominican Fraternity, here in Independence, Kentucky, another member of the group shared that she also had a daughter who was experiencing a high-risk pregnancy.  Then another member of the group asked for prayers for her daughter who was going through a complicated adoption process – three mothers in need of God’s help!

My husband and I decided that we would ask for the help of Our Lady of La Leche.  We first heard about this devotion from my sister, Angela Medyk, a parishioner of St. Madeleine Catholic Church.  She told us about the new shrine at St. Madeleine’s and about the national shrine in St. Augustine.  Since, my husband and I were planning a trip to Florida to visit our family, we decided to make a pilgrimage to both shrines with the intention of praying for the three expectant mothers and their children.

Our first stop was the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine.  What a blessing it was!  We lit candles and prayed in the chapel for the expectant mothers, their unborn children, and for a successful adoption.  Before leaving we stopped by the gift shop and purchased a statue of Our Lady of La Leche, along with her medals and holy cards to take back to the expectant parents.  In the High Springs shrine, we passed through the Doors of Mercy and continued to pray for all of them.  I can happily report that through the intersession of Our Lady, both mothers safely delivered beautiful baby boys, Luke and Benajamin, and the third mother successfully completed the adoption of baby Stella.  As an added bonus Stellas’s adoptive mother, who was previously unable to conceive, is now expecting a baby!

Since then, the devotion to Our Lady of La Leche has continued to spread in our community.  As we hear about an expectant mother who is having a complication with her pregnancy, we give her a blessed medal of Our Lady of La Leche, a holy card, and some literature containing the novena prayers and the inspiring history of the first Marian Shrine in our nation.  The statue of our Lady has traveled to the homes of several expectant mothers and resides with them until the baby is safely delivered.  We currently have two statues in circulation.

This pro-life devotion to Our Lady of La Leche should serve as an encouragement to parents, and grandparents, to turn to Mary Queen of Families with all of their family’s needs.  As we gaze upon her beautiful image, we are reminded that God the Father entrusted into Marys’ care His only begotten Son.  We likewise can safely entrust ourselves, and our families, into the loving arms of our Blessed Mother under the title of Our Lady of La Leche.