The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 12 : § 5. 36-37

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

France

OUR LADY OF BUGLOSE, OUR LADY OF BUCH, OUR LADY OF POITIERS

 36   The parish of Buglose is two leagues away from the city of Acqs (Dax) which is an Episcopal see in Gascony. Around ten years ago, an image of Our Lady was miraculously found there and borne with great solemnity into the Church where it it may still be seen. Those who are served by this Church love to go there to honour the Queen of Angels and she for her part has enabled them to experience her favours. 

The chapel called Our Lady of Buch has certain features which need to be explained for it is located in the Pine forests and dunes of Guyenne, as wild and fearful a place as can be imagined. Here is the story of how it came to be:

Brother Thomas, a Franciscan Cordelier[1], had a reputation for holiness and could with good reason be called a Prophet of the evils which were to come. Shortly before the excesses of the wicked Luther started to spread, he travelled across the land preaching repentance, setting an example through the penances he himself performed and announcing the wrath of the Lord which was to come. Having arrived in Guyenne, he was led by divine inspiration to the coast and a place known locally as the Captallat of Buch. This was near Arcachon where the coast is hazardous for mariners. Suddenly he saw two ships which were being carried by the current into great danger. He fell to his knees immediately and just like St Jerome once did, traced a cross in the sand, offering up a prayer to God for the safety of those on the ships lashed by the winds and being driven onto the sands. His prayer was immediately answered, and in an instant the sea became calm. Several people were witnesses to all this.

At the same time as this happened, whether as part of the debris from a shipwreck or perhaps through a miracle, an image of the Holy Virgin was cast up on the shore. The friar picked it up and carried it to a spot where the point of the headland can be seen sloping down into the sea. There he built a chapel which can still be seen[2]. He wanted it to be made of wood so as to be easily moved should need arise because of shifting sand dunes which can fill valleys and level hills, particularly when the weather is very stormy or windy.

Since the miracle, this place has always been held in great veneration. Mariners have the habit of going there to make their devotions when they are due to set sail on a new voyage. It has also been noted that this place has never suffered from the depredations of pirates and raiders. Some years ago, an English ship moored here with the intention of carrying off booty from here, but consider how God’s justice came into effect, how His punishment followed swiftly upon their sin. The raiders took their spoils back on board ship and tried to set a course for the open sea, but despite the calm weather they hit a reef and their vessel sank. This was all in view of the holy place which had witnessed their infamous crime.

The Church in Poitiers called Our Lady the Great was founded in the following circumstances.

A young man who was on the verge of committing a sin with a young lady of light virtue asked her what her name was. When she said that her name was Mary, he immediately sent her away and God so touched his soul that he became from that moment a model of chastity. To commemorate this sudden conversion of heart, a chapel was built on the site of the young man’s house and later a beautiful Church.

Footnotes

[1] Cordeliers : Friars Minor, Fratres Minores (Ordo Fratrum Minorum — O.F.M.). In France they were usually called the Cordeliers from their rope-girdle (corde, cordelle). 

[2] Known today as la Basilique Notre-Dame d'Arcachon. See the Basilica of Our Lady of Arcachon for further information. 

OUR LADY OF LA BOISSIÈRE, OUR LADY OF LA VASSIVIÈRE, OUR LADY OF CLERMONT, OUR LADY DU PORT, OUR LADY OF PUY-DE-DÔME

 37   In Limousin you can find the chapel called Our Lady of La Boissière which I shall cover in Part II of this book[1]. In the mountains of Auvergne near Montdor, half a league from Besse, we can find Our Lady of Vassivière and the huge numbers making their way there from all parts will give us an idea not only of how holy the place is but also of the help received there from the Queen of Heaven.

It is said that in 1374 when the English were laying waste to the province of Auvergne, all that was left of Vassivière was an old wall containing a window with a niche, where the image of the Holy Virgin had been miraculously preserved. From then on, people began to notice the miracles that God was performing here and they decided to move the image to the Church in Besse. The image was, however, always found back in the original location where it still is to this day. They built first a little vaulted oratory and later a beautiful Church.

The history of Our Lady of Vassivière was printed in Lyon in 1615 and gives details of twenty-eight juridically approved miracles.  

In Clermont we shall see a noble Church dedicated to Our Lady which is a masterpiece reflecting the exceptional devotion of St Avitus, Bishop of Clermont and of St Gregory who was the fortieth Prelate of the same Church and who, after it had been sacked and burned by the Normans around 853, restored it so that it was more beautiful than before. We shall also see the ancient Church called Our Lady du Port, celebrated in the history of Auvergne. Near the same city of Clermont we shall also see in passing the Church of Our Lady du Puy-de-Dôme which is built on an eminence like the majority of places of devotion.

Footnotes

[1] Cap. 9, § 10, nº 6.

 

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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