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
Hungary
88 If there is a kingdom which can proudly claim that it belongs to the Queen of Angels, it is Hungary. St Stephen, their praiseworthy king and commonly known as the Apostle of Hungary, conveyed his Sovereignty to her, being happy to serve as her Deputy. This is why even to this day she is everywhere addressed as the Lady. If perchance anyone utters the holy name of Mary, all those within hearing immediately genuflect on both knees and bow their heads to the ground. Apart from other things that this prince did in honour of the Holy Virgin (which I shall discuss elsewhere), he built, furnished, founded and endowed in his capital a most beautiful Church which is called Our Lady of Alba Royale, whose splendours are described by pious and learned writers[1]. Amongst other features are, for example, several altars of purest gold with rows of the most exquisite gemstones. The Sacristy was so richly laid out that there was nothing comparable to it in the foremost Churches of the world. I do not have the time to give more details here.
Footnotes
[1] Haræus, in Vita S. Stephani, 20 Aug. ; Bonifac., lib. II Hist.
Thrace
89 Here we need to consider the noble and matchless plans of the great Emperor Constantine, but where to begin? Byzantium, as it was once known, was the Queen of the cities of the East but he renamed it Constantinople, giving it his own name. So that this city might with justice be called the new Rome and be made as venerable as the old Rome, he decided that the best plan was to dedicate it the MOTHER OF GOD[1].
This is what he did under the Patriarch Alexander on the 13th of May in the year 330, the 25th year of his reign as Emperor. The ceremony was as magnificent as can be imagined for he had invited to the dedication all the Fathers who had gathered at the Holy Council of Nicaea. There was universal rejoicing amongst all those present. Four years previously, a truly remarkable thing[2] had happened to this great and devout Emperor.
Constantine was anxious to build in his city a Church in honour of Our Lady which was truly worthy of her and of his own aims. Accordingly, he arranged for columns to be brought which were stupendously tall and massive, having a circumference of sixteen feet. The Master architect in charge of the construction had lost heart and any hope of being able to raise them into position until the Holy Virgin, desirous of showing the Emperor that she accepted and approved his work and dedication, appeared in a dream to him and revealed how he might raise them, with very little technology being required and even less labour.
I will have to discuss elsewhere the Emperors Leo and Marcian and the Empress Pulcheria who bequeathed signs of their devotion not only in the city of Constantinople but in the surrounding districts. We now are ready to pass through Greece.
Footnotes
[1] Nicephorus, lib. V, c. 26.
[2] Greg. Turon, lib. de Gloria Mart., c. 9.
Greece
90 We should remember how the Emperor Zeno provided a home for Our Lady in the noble city of Athens, as we said at the beginning of this chapter. Remember too how St Basil the Great[1] was praying on Mt Didyme in Cappadocia in front of an image of the Virgin, imploring her to end the persecutions and cruelties of Julian the Apostate. While in prayer, he had a vision of St Mercurius, soldier and martyr, causing the soul of the wicked Julian to leave his body by means of a javelin that he plunged into his chest. This vision came to pass not long after when the Apostate was struck by a blow and a hand that have remained mysterious ever since, as I shall explain elsewhere[2].
Church history will recall for you numerous other beautiful Churches where once the glorious Virgin was served and venerated in Greece which was, truth to tell, like a Paradise on earth in this regard.
Footnotes
[1] Baron., an 303.
[2] Part II, c. 9, § 8.
The islands of Paros, Rhodes, Malta and Sicily
OUR LADY OF PAROS, OUR LADY OF PHILERMOS, OUR LADY OF VICTORY, OUR LADY OF THE ARCH, OUR LADY OF ITRIA, OUR LADY OF THE SWOON, OUR LADY OF THE NEW- BORN, OUR LADY OF MONREALE
91 We now set sail for Italy and pass the island of Paros where there is a Church dedicated to Our Lady in which blessed Saint Theoktiste, native of the isle of Lesbos, spent many wonderful days. On the island of Rhodes we see with sadness the ruins of the beautiful Church of St Mark on Mt Philermos. Before the island was captured, there was a miraculous icon of Our Lady called Our Lady of Philermos which was miraculously preserved in the ruins of the Church and carried to the Church of St Catherine. Later, when the Knights left Rhodes, the icon was taken to the Church of St Lawrence on Malta. On Easter Monday in 1532, the icon survived without any damage a fire which destroyed the wall on which it hung.
On the island Malta in Valletta there is the beautiful Cathedral called Our Lady of Victory. It was built after the long and furious siege of 1565 which the knights always believed was eventually lifted through the help the Holy Virgin gave to them. This divine assistance arrived in fact on the eve of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin. This determined them to hold a solemn procession in perpetuity as an act of thanksgiving on the feast of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin, which is the 8th of September. On a rock near Malta we shall find a strong centre of devotion to Our Lady which is greeted by sailors and is popular with visitors who throng here from all parts.
92 As far as Sicily is concerned, we devotion to Our Lady has put down so many roots there that we shall not cease to be edified by what we discover. In Palermo, we find the cathedral was dedicated to her by Archbishop Gautier[1], and some lesser Churches and monasteries are named after the Virgin. Besides these, we find Our Lady of the Angels near the city, as well as a small Church near the cathedral which is known today as Our Lady of the Crowned, because it was the place where the ancient kings of Sicily were crowned, as though receiving the crown from the MOTHER OF GOD and desirous of wearing it for her alone. As we explore the island, we find places of pilgrimage and devotion where she has been honoured Down the ages, such as Our Lady of New Light, against the walls of Catania; Our Lady of the Arch, in Noto; Our Lady of Itria and Our Lady of the Swoon in Sciacca; at the foot of Mt Maron, Our Lady the New-Born, Our Lady of Monreale and many more that are well-known to pilgrims. In Trapani, we can pay our respects to the centre of devotion in the Church of the Holy Virgin where Blessed Cecilia of Palermo, a religious of the Minim Order who died in the year 1571 and used to go every year to offer her prayers on the day of the Assumption of the Virgin, having fasted for a fortnight before the holy Feast. She died on that very day whilst in the middle of her devotions and was found after her death with her face turned towards the altar and with her rosary in her hand.
Footnotes
[1] Thomas Fuzellus, lib. VIII Prioris decadis de rebus Siculis.
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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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