Our Lady Untier of Knots Statue Visiting St. Joseph Parish

In the early 16th century, a painting was commissioned by Hieronymus Ambrosius Langenmantel for St. Peter am Perlach Church in Augsburg, Germany. The painting depicts Mary, dressed in a blue mantle, standing on the serpent, crushing evil and untying a knot in a long ribbon with the help of the Holy Spirit and angels. This image of Mary as the Untier of Knots is believed to have been inspired by the meditation of St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon, who saw Mary as undoing the knot of disgrace tied by Eve's disobedience.

Pope Francis encountered this painting while studying in Germany in the 1980s and brought the devotion to Our Lady Untier of Knots back to Argentina, promoting her popularity in recent years.

In 2016, a beloved 17-year-old from Libertyville, Madelynn McInerney, passed away from brain cancer. Feeling helpless, the Cayce family sought spiritual direction from Father Trout and began gathering the community to pray the Rosary as a gift to the McInerney family. Father Trout suggested beginning each gathering with a prayer to Our Lady Untier of Knots. The Cayces developed a strong devotion to Mary under this title and started an annual Rosary Novena in December that has brought even non-Catholic friends to Mary and the Rosary.

In 2020, the Cayces commissioned a sculpture of Mary Untier of Knots from Timothy Schmalz, a famous sculptor from Toronto, after being struck by a statue of the Holy Family during a visit to the outdoor stations of the cross at a local parish. The original full bronze sculpture is now installed at the Cayces' property in Wisconsin, and a fiberglass version with a bronze overlay was created for travel. It is making its first stop at St. Joseph's.

Mary Untier of Knots is seen as one who intercedes for us to her Son, helping us to let go of what binds us to this world and freeing us from the struggles and "knots" of our lives. She is a symbol of hope and a reminder that we are not alone in our struggles.

Thank you to all who joined us for the special blessing on April 30th. To view photos from the evening, please click here.