OUR LADY OF TENDERNESS (ELEOUSA)

The word "eleousa" comes from Greek and means "tender", "merciful".

This invocation of the Virgin Mary Mother of God (Theotokos) is an iconographic representation, showing the Child

Jesus nestled next to the face of His Mother, leaning His face against the face of Our Lady, in a very beautiful

gesture of tenderness.

The invocation of Our Lady of Tenderness, in Icon, has been venerated for many centuries. The same representation, with some variants, also appears in paintings of the Virgin and in altarpieces, under the name of Virgin Eleousa or of Tenderness. An example of the variants is the painting "Refugium Peccatorum" (Our Lady of Refuge) by Luigi Crosio (19th century), in which Our Lady is represented with her face very close to that of Jesus. 

In the Orthodox Church, the quintessential example of the Virgin Eleousa is Vladimir's "Theotokos" in silver, based on the apparitions of Pochaev in Ukraine (circa 1340).

The Sisters of Bethlehem have great devotion to this invocation of Our Lady, so they represent it in medals (ivory resin and metal), medallions (porous molded stone and ivory resin), various icons and even a small dolomite image.

Our Lady of Tenderness, protect your people from all evil!