Our Lady of the Fields is one of the lesser-known names for Mary. The first reference to her can be traced back to St. Denis, bishop of Paris, around 250 AD. Legend has it that he took over a pagan chapel and established it in honor of Our Lady of the Fields. A chapel there still bears her name.

Another legend surrounding her story is that Our Lady of the Fields appeared to a Native American Chief in present-day Maryland. In 1910, a church in the Archdiocese of Baltimore was established as Our Lady of the Fields. It is likely that Father William Howard Bishop, Glenmary’s founder, knew of this church as his first parish was just one county away.

There is no documentation that Father Bishop officially named Our Lady of the Fields as Glenmary’s patroness. Yet it is assumed that members of the society knew of Father Bishop’s devotion to her. He called for her intercession in the first published version of his Prayer for the Home Missions in 1938.

Our Lady of the Fields resonates with the farmers and field workers whom Glenmary serves in rural America. She is usually depicted wearing a simple dress with a light blue wrap, holding a bundle of wheat.

She is an earthly and simple image of Mary — a Mary that is close to the human experience. She encaptures in her being, not just the beauty of all creation, but the trials and tribulations that we endure.

Join us in prayer as we ask for her intercession on February 26, her feast day.

Our Lady of the Fields,

The Seed of your womb

Is the Hope of the earth.

Help us sow this Seed

To all those in need.

In the soil of sorrow,

Help us sow fields of comfort.

In the dry ground of discrimination,

Help us sow fields of rich harmony.

In the hard clay of doubt and despair,

Help us sow abundant fields of hope and care.

O Mary,

Our Lady of the Fields,

Patroness of Glenmary,

Pray for us.

Amen.

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