Never before had a statue of Our Lady been on the altar during Mass. But in 1982, during his historic pastoral visit to the UK, Pope John Paul II placed the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham on the altar in Wembley after joining the procession when she was brought into the stadium.
During his homily, he repeated the prophetic words of Pope Leo XIII, “When England returns to Walsingham, Our Lady will return to England.” The original statue, along with the church and monastery, had been destroyed by fire on the orders of King Henry VIII after he had prayed at the shrine for a son with his first wife, Catherine, who was never able to provide him with a son heir.
Catholic Power House 