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).
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| 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
France
33 Let us proceed now to France where they have been waiting a long time for us to arrive. This is a very Christian Kingdom whose people are dear to Heaven and constitute a Nation that has always been beloved of the MOTHER OF GOD. St Bridget saw one day[1] the blessed Apostle of France, St Denis, addressing the Queen of Heaven and imploring her to come to the rescue of the Kingdom for which he had expended so much labour and effort. She also heard the Holy Virgin who received these prayers from this great defender of France with kindness and understanding. She duly consulted with her most venerable Son on this question of the French who were at that time embroiled in a violent and unrelenting war with the English. There can be no doubt that she has been doing the same thing in recent times for we have seen with our own eyes how God has come unto the aid of France, giving His support to Louis the Just[2], who is a wonder among good Kings. Indeed, the Holy Virgin has from the beginning shown a warm-hearted affection for this flourishing Kingdom and we can say quite frankly that she was moved to feel this way not only by the incomparable goodness of its people but also by the faithful service she received from all corners of France. We shall see proof of this as we visit the principal places of devotion. Let us begin with Gascony as this is the nearest province to Bearn which we have just visited. We shall discover here the most beautiful signs of the ancient devotion to the Queen of Heaven.
OUR LADY OF GARAISON (OUR LADY OF HEALING)
I am going to begin with the Church called Our Lady of Healing which is six leagues away from Tarbes, the capital of Bigorre at the frontier with Béarn and in the diocese of Auch. It is some six score years since the first foundations were laid and the story I am about to relate about the Church has been passed down from father to son[3].
A twelve year old girl was keeping watch over sheep on a moor where later the Chapel would be built. She was sitting near a spring which today is covered over by a semi-vault near the foot of the high altar. Here the MOTHER OF GOD appeared to her and asked her to pass a message to her father: he was to go to the councillors of Mont-Léon, a town which was one league away from there, and he was to tell them to build a Church in her honour on a spot she would point out. The girl was surprised but not so much that she did not feel able to tell her that she would be happy to do this provided the Lady would look after her bag and her food while she made haste to give the message to her father.
When the Lady agreed to do this, the girl ran to her father who was a good-natured man, simple and trusting like his daughter. He believed what she told him and went to convey the message to the Councillors. Their initial reaction was to dismiss the story and send him on his way. Having been rebuffed in this manner, the father went back to his daughter who was back in the fields with her sheep. He told her what had happened and she reported this all to the MOTHER OF GOD, who immediately gave her the same commission. But before the girl set off to do what she had been asked, she took the time and trouble to check her bag and the food she had left with the Lady, because her father had asked for a share of it. Everything was now going to show the hand of Heaven’s special providence through a miracle : for, instead of the piece of bran bread she had left in the bag, she discovered a beautiful white loaf. With joy and excitement, she took this to show her father who went straight back to the Councillors, without touching the loaf. The news of this miracle spread quickly through the town and the priest in Mont-Léon made clear to the Councillors that it would be dangerous to refuse the honour and the favour being offered to the town by the Queen of Heaven. Once the Councillors had given their approval to the request, the priest led the townsfolk to the place indicated by the MOTHER OF GOD so as to erect a cross there. Following contributions received from devout supporters of the project, a little chapel was built and later a beautiful, sturdy Church. Miracles began to occur and have continued to this day, namely the healing of the sick and those suffering from other bodily infirmities. These have been so remarkable and so numerous that the Church has been called Our Lady of Healing, or in a Gascon version of the French word Guérison (which means healing), Our Lady of Garaison.
Rodez is a city in Rouergue where the Bishop has his Cathedral and there they speak highly of Our Lady of Presser where her image, frequently carried from place to place, is back now where it was first discovered.
Footnotes
[1] Lib. IV Revel., c. 10.
[2] Louis XIII, King of France and Navarre from 1610-1643.
[3] Petr. Geof., in Hist. B. Virg. Garazoniæ.
OUR LADY OF ROCAMADOUR, OUR LADY OF L’AGENOUILLADE, OUR LADY OF SIGNAC, OUR LADY OF HAUTE-FAIE & OUR LADY OF BONNE-RENCONTRE
34 We are now going to Cahors in Quercy and thence to the ancient collegial Church of Our Lady of Rocamadour. The name amadour is said to be in memory of St Amator, the husband of St Veronica, who stayed for a time near this rock. The Church began to be famous around 1140 because of the number of miracles that were reported. Hugues Farsy, a canon from Laon in Picardy, who lived at that time, made written records of six score and seven of these miracles.
Half a league from Agde we come to Our Lady of l’Agenouillade which is in the care of Capuchin Fathers; then, in the lands held by the Viscounts of Arpajon, to Our Lady of Signac; in Agenois, to Our Lady of Haute-Faie; and near Agen, capital of Agenois, to Our Lady of Bonne-Rencontre where there is a famous pilgrimage but not on the scale of those at Loreto and Montserrat.
This is a small Chapel where there is an image made of terracotta found some six score years ago. An ox was seen licking incessantly a certain spot among the brambles. The cowherd was curious to find out what was attracting the ox for such a long time and he came across an image of the MOTHER OF GOD. He took possession of it immediately and as soon as he got home he gave it to his mother as a present. The good woman placed it for safe-keeping in a chest with the intention of showing it to the priest. When she went to get it, however, she found the chest was empty and so they quickly went back to the place where her son had first seen it. The image was there, in the same place and position as before. This led them to realize that the Queen of Heaven had chosen to be honoured at that particular spot. This in turn led a number of people to show their devotion by building a chapel which today is served by Fathers of the Third Order of St Francis who have collected the details of this history.
OUR LADY OF THE FEUILLANTS, OUR LADY OF GIMONT & OUR LADY OF BORDELAIS
35 Five leagues from Toulouse we find the Church called Our Lady of the Feuillants but also known as Our Lady of Charity. The building belongs to the Feuillant Fathers and is located under the bell tower The site once belonged to a Cistercian Abbey but today it is the motherhouse for the Congregation of Feuillants[1] who follow the order of St Bernard. A great many miracles have been reported but here is one that holds a special place in the accounts:
The inhabitants of this village had almost all left in order to join battle with those of a neighbouring village called Bérat to resolve differences over their respective boundaries. The Cistercian religious set out at the same time with their image of Our Lady with the aim of trying to make peace between the parties. The image of the Holy Virgin could be seen weeping profusely and everyone was taken aback. As soon as they arrived at the place where the battle was due to be fought, the religious placed the image between the opposing parties and began to sing. The verses and responses of the praises to Our Lady were heard coming from each side and this so moved the hearts of those present that instead of coming to blows they embraced each another and made a pact which has been respected ever since. Immediately after this, the face of the image changed and the tears were replaced by smiles.
Five or six leagues distant from the Feuillants village, we find Our Lady of Gimont in a Cistercian Church where they also tell of miracles God worked through the intercession of the Holy Virgin. I have no intention of describing Our Lady of Auch, nor several other beautiful Churches dedicated to the Holy Virgin in various other places, because this is something very common in France. I will say only that the Archdiocese of Auch is unusual in that all its cathedrals as well as countless other Churches are dedicated to Our Lady. In Bordeaux, which is the capital of Guyenne, we can see signs of the remarkable devotion of Leo XIII, Archbishop of this same city. According to the verse written by the learned Bishop of Poitiers, he restored a Church damaged by fire and made it more beautiful than it was before. He then consecrated it to the MOTHER OF GOD.
In the Church of St Andrew you will come across the beautiful and inspired chapel of Our Lady which was built by Cardinal de Sourdis, Archbishop of Bordeaux. Numerous miracles continue to be reported here to this day.
On the banks of the river Garonne, near St Macaire there is a little chapel in the midst of the fields called Our Lady of Bordelais which is cared for by the Celestine Fathers. It was built according to one tradition by a Lady of Candale in pursuance of a vow she took and was immediately honoured with a stream of favours pouring down from Heaven. The flow was interrupted for a time by the savage assaults of heretics but it has been restored around five years ago, as appears from what has been written recently on the subject.
Footnotes
[1] The Cistercians who, about 1145, founded an abbey in a leaf valley in the Diocese of Rieux (now Toulouse) named it Fuliens, later Les Feuillans or Notre-Dame des Feuillans (Latin folium, leaf), and the religious were soon called Feuillants (Latin Fulienses) [Cath. Encyclopedia]
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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.
The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
© Peter Bloor 2024
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