Chapter 7 : The Sixth Star or Splendour of the Crown of Goodness of the MOTHER OF GOD
She is a true model of generosity towards her children
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) |
§ 3. The gratitude of the MOTHER OF GOD to cities especially dedicated to her
Poitiers
10 After Chartres, the ancient city of Poitiers is famous for being one of the French cities most devoted to the MOTHER OF GOD. The following account written by an historian of Poitiers demonstrates clearly enough the special care and protection she has shown towards this city.
In the year 1202 it came to pass that the mayor of the city had business to attend to in Périgueux so he dispatched one of his servants, a clear-headed individual but one whose probity turned out to be suspect. The city of Périgueux was in the Périgord, a region which was held by the English. They found out about the man's arrival and discovered that he was a native of Périgord who had an uncle there who was well known to them and had been working with them. They set to work on the servant and offered him a thousand pounds if he promised to deliver the city of Poitiers to them. It was the season of Lent and he suggested that Easter Sunday would be a good day to implement their plan as the citizens of Poitiers would be busy with their devotions. The English trusted him and carried out their secret plan so well that, without being seen by anyone, they arrived at the gates of the city around midnight on Holy Saturday.
The mayor was in bed asleep and the traitorous servant went into his bedchamber, looking for the keys to the city gate which his master normally placed under the bed head. He was, however, unable to find them and so he went up on to the city wall and, signalling to the enemy, he threw a note down to them assuring them that all would be well at 4:00 o'clock in the morning. When the hour arrived, he immediately went into his master’s bed chamber once more and told him that the porters needed the keys to the city gate because a certain gentleman needed to set off post-haste in order to go and see the king. The mayor believed the traitor's words and set to looking for the keys but, being unable to find them, he started to suspect treachery. He immediately arose and gave orders for a group of well armed citizens to go straight to the gates of the city near the moat, this being one of the points most vulnerable to attack. The mayor himself, accompanied by some of the city councillors, went into the Church of Notre-Dame-La-Grande in order to entrust the city to God and to His glorious Mother. Whilst he was praying in front of the altar, he saw that the keys of the city were in the arms of the statue of the Holy Virgin. Having immediately made an act of thanksgiving to God and to her who had delivered the city, he went straight to the main city gate by the moat.
In the meantime, panic, or rather a dreadful terror sent from heaven, struck fear into the English camp with the result that they started to fight and kill one another. The news of this spread quickly throughout the city, the alarm was sounded and people came running to the city gate. Some climbed up onto the ramparts and from there they could see some fifteen hundred English soldiers lying dead on the ground. Terrible cries could be heard from men desperate to take part in the massacre. The men from Poitiers sallied forth and fell upon the English, dispatching large numbers of them and taking others prisoner. The latter were taken into the city where they confessed that at 4:00 o’clock in the morning they had seen on the city walls a Queen in awesome majesty, accompanied by a Bishop and a nun (said to be St Hilary and St Radegund, whose relics are preserved in the city of Poitiers). The prisoners went on to say that these were commanding a powerful army which fell upon the English and slew a great number, causing such a sense of terror in the others that they started to attack and kill one another. After witnessing these wonders, the people of Poitiers went about their Easter devotions with hearts greatly moved, offering extraordinary acts of thanksgiving. From that time onwards, in recognition of the special protection Heaven had granted to their city, they have always held a solemn procession around the walls of the city the day after Easter.
Rennes
11 There is similar ancient tradition concerning a remarkable event in the noble City of Rennes:
The English had secretly dug a mine[1] under the city to cause its collapse and when they were almost ready to put their plan into action at around midnight, all the bells in the Church of Saint-Sauveur suddenly sounded of their own accord three times. The sacristan went to investigate what was happening but found that all the doors were closed and there was no one about. When the bells rang for the third time, however, he came back and saw candles had been lit on the altar of the Holy Virgin and he noticed that the statue had changed. Previously the Holy Mother had her arms around her Son whom she was carrying, but now one arm was raised and was pointing to the middle of the Church, as if to show something. This made him go straight away to warn the Governor of the city about what had been happening. The latter came in haste with a number of citizens and ordered bowls of water to be placed around that spot in the Church to detect the vibrations from any excavations the enemy might have been making. It did not take long to confirm what the English had been up to and then to thwart the plans of the enemies of France.
There you have the traditional account. The President of Argentré, however, a man whose devotion was equal to his learning, wrote a history of Bretagne and he did not make any mention of the miraculous rescue I have just described even though he refers to the mine and the discovery by the governor, said to have been made using bowls of water set down at various places in the city. Accordingly, the only assurance regarding this account that I can give to readers is the common tradition handed down from father to son in the city of Rennes. The Statue of Our Lady can still be seen to this day on an altar in the Church of Saint-Sauveur, with one arm stretching out towards the middle of the Church. It has not been possible to establish with certainty whether the statue was made after the incident by way of commemoration or whether there was a miracle, as described in the traditional account
Footnotes
[1] Formerly: a subterranean passage dug under an enemy position, esp. the wall of a besieged fortress, in order to gain entrance or to bring about its collapse. In later use: such a passage in which an explosive is placed.
Soissons
12 There can be no person unaware of the devotion shown since ancient times towards the most glorious Virgin by the city of Soissons in Picardy. Hugues Farsy, a Canon from Laon, wrote a book around 1113 describing the countless miracles worked by the Virgin for her children in Soissons. He makes particular reference to how she brought an end to a common illness called Holy Fire which made people feel as though they were being burned alive and actually brought death to many. The same author wrote of a great number of other cures and favours that the city of Laon received for its long-standing devotion and the honour which throughout history they showed to the shrine of the Holy Virgin.
Tournai
13 Tournai was numbered amongst the cities of Flanders most devoted to serving the Holy Virgin,
but in the year 1340, it had been besieged by the English for forty days and reduced to such an extremity that they had only four days’ worth of provisions left. In the midst of their afflictions, they held a procession which took them to the Church of Notre-Dame (which is also the Cathedral). There they handed over the keys of the city to the Holy Virgin, imploring her to take them under her special protection and to rescue them in their hour of need. This public show of devotion was not without effect, for before the four days had gone by the enemy lifted the siege and the city received fresh supplies of food.
Malte
14 Readers may wish to look again at what was said concerning Malta in Part I and what the learned Lipsius[1] said about Ville Haute and how the Holy Virgin, who is its Protectress, miraculously saved it from invasion by enemies, thwarting their wicked plans.
15 In short, whoever would undertake – I do not say to compile everything that could be written on this subject – but to present a good selection, would need to run through all the cities in Christendom, and especially those who are most particularly dedicated to the service of the glorious Virgin. I do not believe it would be possible to find a single one whose services to the Queen of goodness did not elicit recognition and extraordinary favours from her. The small selection that I have provided above will have to suffice for our purposes.
Footnotes
[1] Virg. Hall., c. 6 et 7.
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| The Virgin of Tenderness. >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
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