The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 12 : § 7.22-25

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

§ 7. How she was recognised and honoured in the Regular Orders

The Congregation of the Oratory

 22   Even though this most illustrious Congregation, founded in the city of Rome by blessed Saint Philip Neri, is not in fact a Religious Order, it has not failed to produce the same fruits in the Church of God and it shares the same protection of the glorious Virgin Mary. 

From the very beginning this group of men, distinguished for their learning and also by reason of their holiness, chose after God the Holy Virgin for their unique Patroness[1]. From that point onwards, the seal and the device of this holy Company incorporated the same Virgin, surrounded by rays of light and holding her Son in her arms. We should not forget the miracle which occurred when these Fathers took possession of the Church of Our Lady called Santa Maria in Vallicella. As a favourable omen, they found over the great door the image of a Virgin which was almost identical to the one they had taken for their device. It was as if the Holy Virgin had been preparing this house for them from the moment the foundations of the church were laid. Later they built a most beautiful church which they occupy now in the city of Rome and where there is a remarkable feature: all the chapels in the church are dedicated to the MOTHER OF GOD – except the one which houses the precious remains of blessed Philip. Several great names have emerged from this noble school of virtue and, just as they all have extraordinary zeal for promoting the honour of the most holy Virgin, they are also indebted to her for the countless favours and graces they received through her mediation.

What I have just written is equally applicable to the Oratory of Jesus and Mary founded in France by Cardinal de Bérulle. He was a man of remarkable virtue who also had a deep understanding and knowledge of interior things. His learning and example have shone forth brightly in our own day. The Sovereign head of the Church honoured him by raising him to the sacred purple, following the nomination of our own Louis the Just[2], a Monarch more distinguished than any of his predecessors for recognising and promoting worthy and virtuous persons. The name given to this congregation is a sure sign that it marches under the white banner of the MOTHER OF GOD, but there is nothing that shows more clearly the help she has given them in their undertakings than the wondrous fruits they have been bringing forth in France every day.

Footnotes

[1] Antonius Gallonius, in Vita S. Philippi Nerii.

[2] Louis XIII (1601-1643).

The Order of Fontevraud

 23   Before I bring this discussion to a close, I feel I need to mention a few Orders which were founded principally for women. The first is the Order of Fontevraud which was founded by a Doctor from Paris no less distinguished for his holiness than renowned for his great learning[1]. He was called Robert d’Arbrissel and he died in the year 1117.

A few years previously, a certain Evraud who was of noble birth was reduced to living as a commoner as a result of his disordered life. He took to living in the woods with a band of robbers who were involved in all sorts of crimes, including robbery and murder. Robert was horrified by their behaviour and resolved to seek out Evraud with a view to encouraging him to have a change of heart. His exhortations were so successful that Evraud started to turn his attention away from material things. It was not only Evraud but also a large number of others whom Robert persuaded to embrace the austerity of religious life. With this in mind, he wrote a Rule for them which may be summarised this follows.

He recalled some of the last words of the Saviour who said to his Holy Mother: Woman behold thy son (speaking of St John) and then said to the same St John: Behold thy Mother.  These words underpinned his construction of a sizeable Monastery which was divided into two : one for men and the other for women, governed by an Abbess who would exercise general supervision and have authority over both. Following the example of St John, the men would be obedient to a woman who for her part would imitate the glorious Virgin by looking after the Religious as a mother would care for her own children.

This Order was approved by several Popes and flourished for a long time under Abbesses who were for the most part high-born ladies from the foremost houses in Christendom. They were as remarkable for their outstanding virtues as for their nobility.

Footnotes

[1] Baron., an. 1117.

The Order of St John of Jerusalem (for women)

 24   Raymond Berenger was a purveyor or steward of the Order of St John and in the year 1128[1]  he founded an Order for women called Saint John of Jerusalem (about eighty years after the first foundation of Knights) now known as the Order of Malta. Various Popes confirmed the Order up to the papacy of Gregory XIII. The first monastery for the nuns was called Our Lady of Sigena. This was founded by Queen Sancha, daughter of King Alfonso of Castile and wife of King Alfonso II of Aragon known as the Chaste. This virtuous lady founded it for poor young ladies, following a miraculous apparition of Our Lady. After the death of her husband the King, she herself entered the Order together with her daughter Dulce, Blanche the daughter of James II, King of Aragon and several other ladies of Royal blood. The Sisters in this Order wear a white Cross like the Knights of St John but the Prioress wears a full Cross on her front. The junior sisters are called pupils and the seniors mistresses. They have ten Priests and a Prior, on whom the Prioress confers the habit of the Order. They are known for their elaborate ceremony in services, a tradition they have kept for four hundred years. For the great Office, they each have a long belt-cord and carry a silver sceptre in the hand. Other Monasteries belonging to this Order include Our Lady of Alguaire in Catalonia which was founded around 1212 by Saurina de Iarba and Elsa de Sagardia, two Catalonian Ladies, and a number of other foundations.

Footnotes

[1] Petrus Bois., Historiæ Melitensis, vol. II.

The Order of Saint Saviour

 25   This Order closely resembles that of Fontevraud which I described above, mainly because since its foundation the Monks and Nuns have their respective accommodation wings which are linked but separate. The Monks must number no more than thirteen, in memory of the Holy Apostles, and they are under obedience to the Abbess of the Monastery in all things except spiritual direction and the administration of the Sacraments (except insofar as this involves external forum). It is called the Order of St Saviour because the Saviour Himself dictated the Rule to Blessed St Bridget[1], making it clear that He was establishing the Order in honour of the Blessed Virgin, His Mother most venerable. More evidence of this is provided by the various devotions they are to practise in service of the Virgin. The Rule may be found written out word for word at the end of St Bridget’s Revelations, just as it was dictated by Our Lord and approved by Pope Urban V, in the year 1368[2].

Footnotes

[1] For this reason, it is also known as the Brigittine Order.

[2] Bonifacius IX, in Bulla Canonizationis S. Brigittæ ; Polyd. Virg., lib. VII de Inventoribus rerum, c. 4 ; Nauclerus, in Chronologia, vol. II, general. 46.

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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 2025

The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 12 : § 7.20-21

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

§ 7. How she was recognised and honoured in the Regular Orders

The Society of Jesus

 20   I feel duty-bound to say a few words about the Society of Jesus[1] to which God called me and gave me the honour of joining. It has always been the belief of those who enjoy this privilege with me that, after the One whose name the Order bears, the Holy Virgin herself played the greatest part in its origins : procuring its institution, facilitating its establishment, granting her favours to the undertaking, her blessings to its progress and coming to its defence on countless occasions when she ensured its continued growth. The founder, Saint Ignatius, may himself be considered her own work for he owes to her entirely everything that he is and all that he has achieved.

From her he received the first promptings of his conversion, through her he was fortified in his struggle for chastity, to her he surrendered everything in his former life that had taken his attention. It was in her church at Montserrat on the eve of the Annunciation that he spent a warrior’s vigil in his first assay of spiritual Chivalry, spending the whole night in prayer before her miraculous image. With her as his guide and companion, he undertook his journeys, his studies and his devotions. We may well believe that she inspired him and dictated, as it were, the wonderful book of Spiritual Exercises which he compose without benefit of any formal study, except for his knowledge of the Saints. In her presence, which is to say in her Church at Montmartre near Paris, and with the benefit of her blessing and favour, he and his nine companions offered to God their first vows and solemn undertakings placing themselves entirely at her service. Under her guidance, he journeyed with his companions to Italy where in the year 1540 he obtained from Paul III the first approval of the Society that he had founded. Without her he never undertook anything whatsoever, since she had taken him and the Order into her protection. As far as the name of this new order is concerned, there could never be any question that it would have anyone other than Jesus and Mary as Father and Mother. This is what he enjoined upon his children, that they should always hold to this double source of support. It would be an impossible task to relate in how many ways she showed her favour to their praiseworthy plans for winning over souls and for advancing the glory of God.

Martin Gutierrez was a member of this Society who was in communication with the Mother of God in a most particular manner. A few years before his death, whilst he was at prayer he saw his beloved Mother in a way which filled him with consolation and was such as to encourage those who came after to dedicate themselves eternally to her.

He saw her surrounded by a most remarkable light and wearing a great cloak of golden brocade. Beneath the cloak, she showed him all his Brothers and in this way reassured him that she had taken them under her protection;  and that for as long as they entrusted themselves to her, she for her part would never cease to be their most beloved, loving and faithful Mother.

I have already written previously of similar favours accorded to other Orders and it does not surprise me in the least that she should have should have shown the same care and affection to our Society, which has need of her help more than all the others. I will show elsewhere how through her exceptional kindness she has been pleased to bring in new members and encourage those whom she identified as being able to spread even further the glory of her Son. I shall have occasion to mention from time to time the indescribable favours she has granted and the care recipients have taken to show their gratitude to her and make her loved and honoured everywhere.

Footnotes

[1] The French has La Compagnie de Jésus,“The Company of Jesus,” following the title given by St Ignatius to indicate its true leader and its soldierly spirit. The title was Latinized into “Societas Jesu” in the Bull of Paul III (1540).

The Order of Discalced[1] Carmelites

 21   It was my means of a wise and virtuous woman that God confounded the armies of Nabuchodonosor[2], and He has done no less in our time by overturning the wicked designs of Satan by the courage of a valiant woman who founded or restored a holy Order, who strengthened the ranks of the Church Militant and carefully helped to populate the Church Triumphant. Concerning the blessed Teresa of Jesus, I can say in a few words that she owed to the Holy Virgin everything that a creature possibly could owe and she in return loved and honoured the Virgin as much as it is possible for a mortal heart.

Having lost her mother when she was twelve years old, she sought the embrace of the glorious Virgin, solemnly choosing her to be henceforth her beloved Mother and her only hope after God. From that moment onwards, she served her so carefully with such a tender-hearted devotion that she never undertook anything without having first sort her help and approval. Her only pleasure was to think on her alone, to speak of her splendours and draw everyone she could to love her as tenderly as she did. It was through love of her that she felt an indescribable affection for the blessed Saint Joseph. In order to please the holy Virgin, she entered the Carmelite Order which is specially dedicated to her, as I showed above. In order to encourage the order to a still greater devotion, she did everything within her power, whether in tightening the discipline of the Order which had become somewhat lax, or in developing a new discipline.

We can go further than this and note that it was thanks to an extraordinary favour granted by the MOTHER OF GOD that Teresa from a very early age had been granted sweet graces which were such as to make her a worthy instrument for such a noble and holy undertaking.

With this in mind, she bound Teresa with links of a charity most wondrous to a loving colloquy with her beloved Son, from whom she acquired bounteous graces. As Teresa herself was accustomed to say: just as she would lose these extraordinary graces from Heaven, her Mother would restore health to her. At one fell swoop, she broke the chains of the petty preoccupations and vanities of the world which held her in thrall and she changed her heart almost in an instant. It was her |Mother who helped her in achieving the designs she had for the glory of God in establishing her Order and who one day enabled her to see all the children she had given to the order who were there, nestled under Mary’s Royal cloak, proving to Teresa how she kept them under her special protection. I might also say in perfect truth that all the joy of this holy Order is to be found in the persons of the most Holy Family of the Word Incarnate: Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Considerable time would be needed to set forth all the ways in which the Holy Virgin showed her care for the Order from the moment of its foundation onwards and the more than maternal that she showed towards them. That, however, is a task for those who have written the history of the Order rather than for me. I shall simply note in passing that what this Order has received from the Holy Virgin is the equal of other Orders, being sheltered under the wings of the most gentle and loving providence of the most sacred MOTHER OF GOD.

Footnotes

[1] A term applied to those religious congregations of men and women, the members of which go entirely unshod or wear sandals, with or without other covering for the feet.

[2] See the Book of Judith: viii-xvi.

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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 2025

The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 12 : § 7.17-19

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

§ 7. How she was recognised and honoured in the Regular Orders

The Order of Mount Olivet

 17   The Order of Mount Olivet[1] owes its origins, just like the previous ones we have mentioned, to her who is the common Mother of Religious[2]. 

St. Bernard Ptolomei was a Senator and professor of philosophy in the City of Siena. Here is how he played his part in raising the holy standard of this order.

He had lost both his eyes in a terrible accident, but this had made him lose any vain contentment in things of this life. His physical blindness opened the eyes of the spirit and two other Sienese Senators were attracted to his plans. He withdrew with them to a mountain near Siena which they called Mount Olivet[3], where they began to lead a very austere life, enjoying altogether Heavenly colloquies. Now, it is often the case that good intentions are never wanting people to thwart them, and Pope Gregory XI, who had transferred his seat to Avignon, had been told so many bad things about them that he decided to summon them for a meeting, resolved to do some straight talking with them. As soon as they arrived, the Pope immediately changed his negative opinion and began to speak kindly to them. At the end of the meeting, he sent them straight to the Bishop of Arezzo whom he instructed to make all due arrangements for these Fathers and to draw up the rule that they were to follow from that moment onwards. The Holy Virgin, however, did not omit to play her part as far as this Bishop was concerned, for she gave him advanced warning 

    • that these Religious were on their way to him, 

    • that he should remember they were coming from her rather than just from the decision of the Holy Father, 

    • that he should receive them just as though they were his children, and 

    • that he was to give them the white habit and the rule of Saint Benedict. 

This was all done just as she had requested and Pope Gregory approved their rule in the year 1371.

Footnotes

[1] The Olivetans.

[2] Arnoldus Wionius, lib. I Ligni vitæ, c. 67 ; Platus, lib. I de Bono status Religiosi, c. 34, an. 1371.

[3] From the name of the Order's original hermitage, called Monte Oliveto in honour of Christ's Passion.

The Order of St Jerome

 18    The Holy Virgin showed herself no less favourable when it came to the beginnings of the Order of Saint Jerome.

This order had first appeared in the year 1405 but after a fair amount of time had elapsed it had still not made much progress, having only three houses in Spain which were all quite poor. This so crushed the hearts of the first Religious that they packed their bags and began to leave, each one to wherever it pleased God to lead them, despairing that they would ever be able to grow in numbers. The MOTHER OF GOD did not let them down in their hour of need and she appeared to them as they were in this sad frame of mind. She upbraided them for their lack of courage and trust in God and in herself; she urged them to go back, to start once again and from that moment onwards to have the confidence that soon they would see a growth in their numbers. Her promise was duly fulfilled by events. Henceforth, these Fathers took her for their loving Mother and their faithful Advocate. In order to leave posterity with a memorial of what had happened to them, they adopted in her honour the white tunic which they wear under their normal brown habit. 

The Order of Minims

 19    Around the year 1470, the blessed Saint Francis of Paola (in Calabria) founded the Order of Minims to help reinvigorate the Church Militant. You would have to be completely unaware of the remarkable devotion this saint had for the Blessed Virgin to have any doubts that from its very beginning she took the Order which he founded under her most particular care and protection.

From the time that he was a very small child, whenever he wanted to greet his mother and father or to say something to them, he would always begin with these two words: Ave Maria. He continued this practice in all his conversations for the rest of his life. His dear children followed his example and would never exchange greetings or talk to each other without having spoken this greeting to the Virgin. At the age of 13, he spent a year with the Fathers of Saint Francis of Assisi. He then left, under the secret guidance of God who wanted him to offer his service elsewhere. He asked his parents to be taken to the Church of Our Lady of the Angels, otherwise known as the Portiuncula, of Saint Francis and this they happily agreed to do.

I have no difficulty in believing that it was here that he received from the Holy Virgin and from the glorious Father Saint Francis the commandment to found his new Order. As soon as he had returned to his own country, he immediately set about building a church in honour of the Holy Virgin. It seemed to him, however, that his project was somewhat lacking in ambition and the plan was too small in scale. At this point, a Friar wearing the habit of Saint Francis came to see him and urged him to lay foundations for a more substantial and noble building. The Friar urged him to place his confidence in God and then proceeded to pull down what the Saint had  built thus far. With that, he suddenly disappeared, leading some to say that this was none other than the blessed Saint Francis of Assisi himself who had been sent to Saint Francis of Paul by the glorious Virgin, she being the patron of the work he had undertaken. This belief (which I share with them) is, moreover, confirmed by the fact that the Religious of this Order were called Minims of Jesus and Mary. They would begin their long night prayers and profound meditations with the Rosary, having learned through long experience just how many graces and blessings they had obtained thereby from the MOTHER OF GOD, attributing the miracles performed to this. The Order’s Oratories were never without an image of the Virgin, to whom they ever had confident recourse.

When King Louis XI, who had huge respect for the Order, realised the importance of the Virgin’s image for them, he wanted to present one as a gift which was valued at 17,000 écus[1]. The Saint refused the gift, saying that the Order’s devotion was not linked to gold or silver but simply to the Queen of Heaven herself. The Catholic King Ferdinand asked for the prayers of the Saint to help him in his war with the Moors. He was told by the Saint that he would be victorious and this caused him soon after to build a fine convent for the Order, which he called Our Lady of Victory. In short, the Saint and the members of his Order had always recognised the Holy Virgin as their beloved Mother and their special Advocate; they experienced in a thousand different ways her gentle care and a loving help. 

Footnotes

[1] écus: gold coins so named from the royal shield or coat of arms which they bore.

👈Écu d'or of Louis XI. CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

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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 2025 

The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 12 : § 7.15-16

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

§ 7. How she was recognised and honoured in the Regular Orders

The Celestine order

 15   In 1274 at the Council of Lyon Pope Gregory X approved the Celestine Order, under the Rule of St Benedict[1]. St Peter of Morone, who was later to become Pope Celestine V, practised the first exercises in a cave in the Maiella mountains which are in Abruzzo, part of the Apulia region.

 

I have not come across much detailed information relating to our theme of Marian devotion but it is clear that Our Lady worked wonders in the person of this Saint:

    • through his mother’s tears, she restored sight to an eye which he lost when he was three years old;

    • from his childhood onwards, he enjoyed a close friendship with the Holy Virgin who would often visit him, accompanied by St John the Evangelist and keep him company when he was reciting the Psalms;

    • he served an apprenticeship learning monastic discipline in the house of the same Virgin : the convent of Our Lady of Mt Carmel at Fiesole in Tuscany; and

    • there are several other instances of the trust he placed in the Queen of Angels and of the good will she for her part bore towards him.

All this convinces me that the Holy Virgin identified him as one of her most devoted servants who would advance God’s glory and whose undertakings she was happy to bless.

Footnotes

[1] Petrus de Alliaco Cardinal., Cameraceus, Dioni. Faber, Benedictus, Gononus et alii, in Vita S. Petri Celestini.

The Servite Order

 16   You only have to hear the name of the Servites to understand that they were dedicated from the moment of their foundation to serving the MOTHER OF GOD. The birth of this order came about in the following manner.

In the year of Our Lord 1233, the seventh of Gregory IX’s Pontificate, seven worthy Florentine merchants who were members of a Confraternity sworn to offer praise to the MOTHER OF GOD had gathered on the Vigil of the Assumption to sing  her praises. Their names were : Bonfilius, Amadeus, Buonagiunta, Manettus, Alexis, Sostene and Uggucioni. They heard a voice telling them to go to Monte Senario (which is three leagues from Venice) and there to give themselves up to prayer and wait until they learned of Heaven’s plan for them.  These men of God obeyed immediately under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They gave away all their possessions to the poor and began in that place to lead the life which assigned to them, in great poverty and remarkable self denial. Other people were so greatly moved by the extreme discipline they showed in their lives that they determined to join them. Eventually, the numbers increased to such an extent that it became necessary to found additional houses. It was their practice to walk through the streets of Florence begging for alms, and soon children still being nursed by their mothers, would cry out: “Those are the servants of the Blessed Virgin, give them some money.” This name stuck with them.

Seven years had already gone by since they adopted this way of life and nothing had been heard from Heaven. One night, the blessed Virgin appeared to each of them separately, surrounded by a bright light and accompanied by a host of Angels. In one hand she held an open book, which was the rule of Saint Augustine that she wanted them to keep; in the other hand she held a black habit which she was giving to them as a mark of the life that she had spent in tears and travail. The next day the men all spoke together about what had happened to each one of them separately, and this was enough to make them comply immediately with the holy Virgin’s request. Pope Gregory IX approved their order and several other Popes after him.

I cannot omit to mention some remarkable things which happened in the early days of this Order. 

The first is that around this time the blessed Peter of Verona, popularly called Saint Peter the Martyr, had been sent to Florence in order to combat the heresy of the Manichaeans who had swarmed out of hell to bring trouble to all Italy. He saw in the spirit on more than one occasion a high mountain covered with a great light and clothed with every sort of flower. Amongst these, he noticed seven lilies of incomparable beauty, whose silver heads were higher than all the other flowers. His astonishment increased still further when he saw a group of Angels picking these flowers, watched with envy by the others, and presenting them to the MOTHER OF GOD who received them with indescribable joy. Finally, he saw something which overwhelmed him more than anything else: all these lilies in the hands of the glorious Virgin joined together to become one. Saint Peter asked several times to be told what the secret meaning of this vision could be; he learned eventually that these lilies were the blessed servants of the Holy Virgin and they were leading a truly angelic life on Monte Senario. He subsequently found himself so closely bound to them that he was unable to part himself from them. This may be the reason why the Fathers of this Order have for their device lilies on an azure field, bound with an S, which is the first letter of the name Servites. Others say that it was an M crowned, standing for Mary. 

The second miracle is one that occurred near Florence in a place called Cafaggio where they had built a Church in honour of the MOTHER OF GOD. They had decided to dedicate the church under the title of the Annunciate, and they commissioned a painter to produce a picture portraying the mystery of the Angelic salutation. It was then that the miracle occurred which is now known to all the world. The artist had painted the whole of the body of the holy Virgin and he had left the head to the last. Whilst he was musing deeply about this but without being able to produce an idea he found satisfactory, he had a sense that there was something in him which was displeasing to the MOTHER OF GOD and this was making it hard for him to bring his work to a conclusion. On that thought, he made a general confession of all his sins and then something beautiful happened. He had just taken up his brush when he found that the face on which he had been reflecting for so long had been so perfectly completed and with a beauty so rare and a majesty so remarkable that he had no doubts that this was a heavenly intervention and some Angel had set his hand to the task. When he saw the completed picture, he could not stop himself from uttering a loud cry of astonishment and this made all the religious come running. In a little while the whole city of Florence had heard the tale of this miracle and no one could have any doubts about it once they set eyes on the radiant and divine countenance in the painting.

I shall discuss elsewhere[1] the remarkable vocation of blessed Philip Benizi to this Order and of the sweet and blessed decease[2] not only of this same Philip but of the seven first Fathers whose names I provided above. I fear there is neither time nor space here to recall all the things I could in support of our theme.

Footnotes

[1] Part III, c. 5, § 5.

[1] Part III, c. 13, § 3.

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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