Dr. Amelia Gallagher Publishes Article on Niagara Falls Pilgrimage

Dr. Amelia Gallagher, professor of religious studies at Niagara University, recently published the article "Our Lady of Peace: John Joseph Lynch's Pilgrimage to Niagara Falls" in Vincentian Heritage. The Rev. James Maher, C.M., Niagara University's president, wrote the forward.

The article details Archbishop Lynch's endeavor to establish a pilgrims' shrine on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Our Lady of Peace, officially recognized by the Catholic Church, integrated Catholic tradition with North American cultural forces, including ideas from contemporary art and nature philosophy.

"All considered, his contribution to Niagara's culture and history has a curious genealogy of influence that included classical rhetoricians, philosophers, ancient hermits, medieval penitents, Romantic artists, and peasant seers," Dr. Gallagher writes. "This vision crystalized as these disparate influences coalesced, but then dissipated once again as circus entertainers, industrialists, landscape designers, and land developers pushed aside such lofty notions of transcendence at Niagara Falls."

Archbishop Lynch co-founded and purchased the site on which Niagara University is located today. He served as the university's first president (1856-1859) before being appointed bishop of Toronto in 1860 and then elevated to archbishop in 1870.

Vincentian Heritage is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting a living interest in the historical and spiritual heritage of the wide-ranging Vincentian family under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac.

Dr. Gallagher received her doctorate from the Institute of Islamic Studies of McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her research interests also include sectarian groups and sacred architecture in Turkey.