The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 12 : § 5. 31-32

Chapter 12 : The Eleventh Star or Splendour of the Crown of Excellence of the Mother of God

Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr François Poiré's Triple Crown of the Mother of God (1643 French edition).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020)

She has been and is still recognized and called blessed by all generations in the world

§ 5. She was recognized  and honoured by all Nations everywhere in the world

OUR LADY OF SARRANCE

 31  We now travel to the mountains of Bearn in the Diocese of Oleron which is within the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Navarre and not far from the kingdom of Aragon. Our destination is a place of devotion popularly known as Our Lady of Sarrance, which is under the care of the Premonstratensian Order. This place has been inundated for the last four hundred years with pilgrims coming from all parts. Amongst those who have witnessed or have been touched by the numerous miracles occurring here are the Kings of Aragon and Navarre, who demonstrated their deep affection for the site by building a house where they might go when paying devotional visits. The Church of Our Lady is located at the foot of a high mountain which is surrounded by several other lofty peaks. To reach the summit of the lowest amongst these takes a day’s journey. The ancient tradition of devotion has diminished over the last fifty years because Joan, Queen of Navarre, sought to rid Bearn of the Catholic Religion. Today we are see a re-awakening of devotion thanks to the zeal of our glorious and invincible Louis of eternal memory. His victorious armies penetrated this region and re-established the practice of the Faith which had been banished.

OUR LADY OF BETHARAM

 32   In the aforementioned country of Bearn is the Diocese of Lascar which has a chapel called Our Lady of the Calvary of Betharam. Its importance derives from its situation and the great wonders God has performed there rather than from the grandeur of its architecture. It was built around one hundred and forty years ago and its story has been handed down by the elders of the neighbouring village of Etelle who would have heard it from their fathers.

Some shepherds were leading their flocks through the rocks at the foot of a mountain on the banks of the river Gave, which has its source in the Pyrenees and crosses the whole of Bearn. In the same place as may today be found the high Altar of the Chapel, they saw a mysterious light and, running towards it, they came across a beautiful image of Our Lady. The news spread quickly around the village and it was decided to prepare a place worthy of this miraculous image. The place where it had been found was judged unsuitable because of the rocks and so an oratory was built opposite, on the other side of the Gave and which can be seen today at the end of the bridge. But no matter how many times they tried to instal the image in the oratory, the image returned to the spot where it had been found. This was an evident sign that God had chosen this place to honour His Mother. Accordingly, they found a means of building a Chapel there in her honour and immediately it was as if a spring of superabundant graces had opened up. Pilgrims began to arrive at the Chapel from all parts and there were some who, arriving in sight of the Chapel, finished their pilgrimage on their knees, with lighted candles in their hands so as to render homage to the Queen of Heaven and earth. This continued and the numbers increased up until the time when Count Montgommery, like a Satan unchained at the head of an army of demons, arrived in Bearm where he destroyed the Holy places. The venerable Chapel of Our Lady was sacked by him and his vile gang and all that was left were the walls which had survived the flames. Now, while the Chapel was in this sorry state, people began to notice light inside during the night as if there were lamps and lighted torches; and they could hear voices and the harmonies of music. This continued until, thanks to the late Jean de Sallettes, Bishop of Lascar, who was a Prelate of signal piety and learning, the Chapel was restored and the Holy Mass re-established in the year 1615.

That was the year when the flame of devotion that heresy had extinguished was relit and blazed more ardently and gloriously than before. The fountains of grace which had been stopped up began to flow again but now more abundantly than ever before. This moved the metropolitan Archbishop of Auch, Léonard de Trappes, to pay an official visit in the following year with a pomp reflecting the re-found devotion. He was accompanied by a large number of Ecclesiastics and Religious from the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Pé, about one league away. There was a formal procession on foot by the Archbishop, his clergy and all the Catholic nobility from the country, as well as countless ordinary people who turned up from all the neighbouring parishes carrying crosses and banners. They filled the air with the echoes of their chants, their hymns and their canticles, all in honour of the glorious MOTHER OF GOD. This most worthy Prelate celebrated a sung Mass with great devotion and placed the image on the high Altar, where it can be seen to this day in the place where the first one stood before it was taken by a worthy priest into protection from Montgommery’s soldiers and removed to the nearest town in Spain.

The Prelate demonstrated his devotion to this site, which he maintained until the day of his death, by bequeathing in his will a silver lamp with a legacy to pay for it be kept burning night and day before the aforesaid image. His wish has been faithfully respected by his successors. This devotion was cultivated over several years by pious priests and was eventually entrusted to the direction of Fr Bequel, Chaplain of Our Lady of Garaison and later Priest in Montant, near the Chapel. The numbers of people coming daily continued to increase and Fr Charpentier, a secular Priest whose virtue and piety were known at various places in France, was pressed into taking over the management of the site. He arrived in 1621 and, having considered the mountain at whose foot the Chapel was located and the link with Calvary, he brought together devotion to the Cross and devotion to Our Lady by planting three large crosses on the summit of the mountain, with the figures of Our Lord and the two thieves. He also built a chapel with two cells on the sides in which the Holy Sepulchre may be seen. On the slopes of the mountain are several stations which represent the mysteries of the Sacred Passion of the Son of God which preceded the Crucifixion. These were made possible by the alms given by the king, queens, the eldest brother of the king and several other personages.

This Calvary is so ornate and worthy of veneration that it is not possible to find another anywhere that is more beautiful or filled with consolation. There is no heart so hard that could not be moved by something so replete with the spirit of devotion. This is continually fostered by the exercises practised by the Priests who are resident there and live in a well-regulated community established by the Bishop of Lascar and by Henri de Sallettes, his nephew and successor, under the direction of the present superior, Fr Charpentier.

It is wonderful to see a goodly number of Hermitages scattered amidst the rocks of this mountain, serving as places of retreat not only for pilgrims but also for those in the house who want to spend time in spiritual exercises. I am indebted to monsieur de la Vie, first president of the Pau Parliament, for two wonderful comments about this place that I heard from his own mouth. The first concerns the local river Gave. From its source to the point where it joins the river Adour takes three days. Its flow is so rapid that it has never been possible to navigate it, but as soon as it comes near to the Chapel and for as long as it takes to pass by, it slows down and becomes calm – as though honouring thereby the place where the Queen of the world is adored. The second comment was that the Parish of l’Étoile where she is enthroned was the only one in Bearn where the Catholic Religion was maintained intact during all the difficulties and troubles. Not one person ever became a Huguenot, notwithstanding the sufferings and persecutions endured by so many in this respect for the space of some fifty years.  The Holy Virgin helped these devout parishioners, holding them by the hand. In Navarre we shall focus on the noble and ancient Church called Our Lady of Nagora. I shall cover this later when discussing the Order of the Lily

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

© Peter Bloor 2024