Nuestra Senora de la Leche y buen parto (“Our Lady of the Milk and Happy Delivery”)

I nursed both my kids and the La Leche League was a blessing to me when I had my first child. We met monthly (bringing babies with you was the norm). There was no internet to rely on for information. As you read this keep in mind that La Leche League it is NOT IN ANY WAY a religious organization. I had heard of the national group years before my first child was born. The group was founded 1956 by seven Catholic mothers in Chicago. “They chose the Blessed Mother, the New Eve, to be the patroness of their fledgling movement, under the title Nuestra Senora de la Leche y buen parto (“Our Lady of the Milk and Happy Delivery”), a title associated with an ancient Marian shrine in St. Augustine, Florida.” —(https://open.substack.com/pub/kolbecenter/p/la-leche-league?r=5omzc2&utm_medium=ios)

In the first 2 years of our marriage my husband and I would often visit St Augustine, Florida, a beautiful, historic coastal town located between Jacksonville and Daytona. It is the site where the very first Spaniards landed in the new world.

“Father Lopez celebrated Mass at a rustic altar made of wood. The sky served as the roof for what was the first parish Mass in what is now the United States. It was on this sacred ground that the Spanish settlers would begin devotion to Our Lady of La Leche, Nuestra Señora de La Leche y Buen Parto, Mary nursing the infant Jesus. In the early 1600s, the Spanish settlers of St. Augustine established the first Shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the United States……….Today, more than 450 years later, an image of Our Lady of La Leche – Our Lady of the Milk and Happy Delivery – graces a small mission chapel in the heart of what is lovingly referred to as the “sacred acre.” Pilgrims come from all parts of the world to pray for her powerful intercession. They pray for fertility, for the health of their children, for safe delivery of those expecting. Their prayers continue to be answered, and many return in thanksgiving to share with us their stories. We invite you to come join us – to stand on holy and sacred ground where our story of the conversion of hearts and the graces of Mary continues….” -- taken from https://missionandshrine.org/about-us/our-story/

When I was pregnant with my first born, my husband and I visited the mission gift shop where I bought a medallion of Our Lady of La Leche, had it blessed, and wore it on a chain throughout both my pregnancies. I also gave one to my sister when she was pregnant with her first child.

“Through the prayers of the Mother of God, may the Kolbe Center become a spiritual La Leche League for millions of Catholic parents!” — https://open.substack.com/pub/kolbecenter/p/la-leche-league?r=5omzc2&utm_medium=ios