This painting depicts the apparition to the Amsterdam visionary Ida Peerdeman. Through this image, the message of the Lady of All Nations has spread throughout the world.
Location
Chapel of the Lady of All Nations
Type
Chapel
Religious community
Roman Catholic Church
Description
Image of the Lady of All Nations
Maker and date
Heinrich Repke
1951
Visit
The painting is on display in the chapel
On the façade of an apparently ordinary house, a woman dressed in white looks at you with a peaceful gaze. She is standing on a globe. Behind her is a cross, symbolising the suffering of Jesus. She is surrounded by a bright light, the light of God. There are sheep at her feet, representing all the peoples of the world. Her title is written at the top: the Lady of All Nations. This painting is a reproduction of a widespread image of the Virgin Mary. The original painting is now located in this house, which has been converted into a chapel.
The painting was made by Heinrich Ripke in 1951 after a detailed description by the visionary Ida Peerdeman (1905-1996). Ida Peerdeman said she had seen several apparitions of a woman between 1945 and 1959. She identified the woman, who called herself the Lady of All Nations, as the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her message advocates for global peace.
Visionary
someone who, through the intervention of higher or divine powers, can see into the supernatural or into the future.
Finding a stable place for the painting in Amsterdam turned out to be difficult. In 1954, a few years after it was painted, it was displayed in the St. Thomas Church in the Rijnstraat. Already a few months after its placing, the painting had to be removed from the church. After being stored in the rectory of the church for about ten years, the painting was repeatedly moved to different locations. In 1970, after twenty-five years of wandering, the painting was given a permanent place at its present location in the Diepenbrockstraat.
The painting helped to spread the message of the Lady of All Nations. Prayer cards in many languages have spread her image and her prayer for peace throughout the world. Today, groups from many different countries visit the chapel to admire the original painting and to pray to the Lady. This way, the simple chapel has become a refuge for a special international group of believers.
Juliette Collet
Student Amsterdam University College
Last edited
November 28, 2024
Image of the Lady of all Nations, Heinrich Repke, 1951. Collection Stichting Vrouwe van alle Volkeren.
Interior and exterior: photography Robert Westera.
Ida Peerdeman, unknown photographer, unknown date. Collection Stichting Vrouwe van alle Volkeren.
Prayer Cards, photographer Robert Westera, digital photo, 2024.
Interior of the Chapel of the Lady of All nations during adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, photographer Robert Westera, digital photo, 2024.
Hermkens, A.-K., W.H.M. Jansen en C. Notermans, Moved by Mary: the power of pilgrimage in the modern world (Farnham 2009).
Online sources
Bedevaarten in Nederland, Vrouwe van alle Volkeren
Last visited 14-11-2024
‘The Image’, Stichting Vrouwe van alle Volkeren
Last visited 14-11-2024