An Australian Our Lady

Abstract

This article offers a description of three Australian Marian pilgrimage sites—Penrose Park (Roman Catholic), Yankalilla (Anglican), and Coogee (post-Christian). At Penrose Park, devotion to the Virgin Mary reveals its deep roots in Catholicism through the presence of traditional motifs found at global Marian shrines such as Czestochowa, Lourdes, and Fatima. The Yankalilla shrine, formed within traditional Anglican parameters, also contains familiar Marian symbolism but has adopted non-institutional and non-Christian ideas that are attractive to spiritual seekers and are part of popular culture. At Coogee, the Virgin Mary emerged outside the confines of formal religious tradition. Thus is the Australian “Our Lady” framed by international motifs from transnational shrines yet identified with uniquely local bushland and beach settings along with elements from Australian culture and history.