The first dedication was done by King Richard II in 1381, as England faced the turmoil of the Peasants’ Revolt, an uprising that took place in response to high taxes that was suppressed at the cost of over 1,500 lives.

“The reeducation which takes place on March 29, 2020, is a personal dedication of the people of England following in the footsteps of King Richard II, who in the face of great political turmoil in 1381 went to the shrine of Our Lady of Puy in Westminster Abbey to seek her guidance and protection,” said Msgr. John Armitage, the rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, which is England’s national Marian shrine.

“In thanksgiving he returned and gave the country as a gift – a dowry – to Our Lady for her continued protection and guidance” he told Crux.

“So, we the Catholics of England today follow in that tradition, faced with the personal and national challenges of our day we turn to her once again and offer our faith as she leads us to her Son,”

In medieval times, the English understanding of the word “dowry” was something “set aside” by a man for his wife in the event of his death.

The rededication was proposed at the November 2017 meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

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