Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Our Lady of Ransom is associated with the apparitions of Our Lady to St Peter Nolasco on 1st August 1253 and showed him the white tunic and red cross to be adopted by the Order of Mercedarians which she wished King James of Aragon to establish. The purpose of the new Order was prayer and almsgiving for the redemption of Christian captives in Moorish hands. The apparition took place in Barcelona Cathedral where the Shrine of Our Lady of Ransom is to be found.
The co-founders of the Guild, Fr. Philip Fletcher M.A. & Mr. Lister Drummond Q.C. chose the title, Our Lady of Ransom, as they saw a spiritual parallel with the work of the medieval Ransomers.
The Guild was approved and blessed by Pope Leo XIII on 18th May 1889, whereupon he declared himself to be its ‘President’. Pope St. Pius X and his successors took the title ‘Protector’ [Protectore Archconfraternitatis S.M. de Mercede pro Conversionis Angliae et Cambriae]. This and several other minor titles were dropped from those listed in the Annuario Pontifico in the 1980s.
Places
Pilgrim Bureau, Friday Market Place, Walsingham, Norfolk NR22 6EG
1981: 31 Southdown Road, London SW20 8QJ
Legal status
The Guild of Our Lady of Ransom is governed by a Constitution amended on 21 May 2012 and is a Registered Charity (Number 232716) under the category 'Religious activities'.