Celebrations

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “On this day, a Sunday, in the year 1550, the canonesses of Our Lady of Paris being in procession before the image of the Bless Virgin, which is near the door of the choir, a heretic from Lorraine, breaking through the crowd, sword in hand, sought to strike that image, but he was prevented by the assistants, and on the Thursday following, he was executed before the porch of Our Lady.”

Our Lady of Paris, or Notre-Dame de Paris, is a cathedral oftentimes simply known as Notre Dame. It is among the largest churches in the world, completed in French Gothic style. There is a separate room in the church which houses many important relics, including the crown of thorns and one of the nails from Christ’s Passion, a fragment of the True Cross, among other relics. Veneration of the Crown of Thorns takes place on the first Friday of the month, and also on Good Friday.

The city of Paris was evangelized in the 3rd century, and in the year 250 the pope sent them their first bishop, Saint Denis. At that time the Christians were being persecuted throughout the Roman Empire, so Catholics practiced their faith in secret. Saint Denis was martyred within a few years, but his successors continued until Constantine became emperor and ended the persecution.

The first church was built at about that time as an expression of the faith of the people, but the Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris presently occupying the spot was begun in 1163 by Bishop Maurice de Sully. There is a legend that he had a vision of a glorious new cathedral in Paris, and that he himself had drawn the outline for it on the ground where the cathedral now stands. The cornerstone was laid in the presence of Pope Alexander III, but it was not until 1345 that the cathedral was basically completed. The style was a new one, and Notre Dame was one of the first cathedrals to make use of flying buttresses to allow for the large stained-glass windows, including the world famous rose window.

In the year 1548 the cathedral was damaged by Protestants, and various tombs and stained glass windows were destroyed. It was probably at about this time that the incident the Abbot Orsini refers to occurred. In 1793 the cathedral suffered desecration during the French Revolution, and much of the art and many of the relics were damaged or stolen. The cathedral was for a time used as a warehouse to store food.

In 1801 the cathedral was given back to the Catholic church, and in 1804 the coronation ceremony of Napoleon I took place there. The Cathedral of Notre Dame has been repaired and restored several times since then, and is now again in use for its intended purpose.

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate dedicated the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto of the Southwest on December 7, 1941, a date more famous for the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Carved of stone, the grotto is a replica of the place in France where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858. The Oblates, a Catholic order of priests and brothers devoted to serving the poor, maintain the grotto as a focus for their lay group, the Missionary Association. In 1999 they added a Tepeyac Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe at the site, and in 2003 a Ministry Center. The Oblate School of Theology is nearby.[2]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_de_Paris

[2] https://www.wherewewalked.info/feasts/12-December/12-07.htm

Celebrations

The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière (French: Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière) is a minor basilica in Lyon, France. It was built with private funds between 1872 and 1896 in a dominant position overlooking the city. The site it occupies was once the Roman forum of Trajan, the forum vetus (old forum), thus its name (as an inverted corruption of the French Vieux-Forum).

Fourvière is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to whom is attributed the salvation of the city of Lyon from the bubonic plague that swept Europe in 1643.[1] Each year in early December (December 8, day of the Immaculate Conception), Lyon thanks the Virgin for saving the city by lighting candles throughout the city, in what is called the Fête des Lumières or the Festival of Lights[2].[2] The Virgin is also credited with saving the city a number of other times, such as from a Cholera epidemic in 1832, and from Prussian invasion in 1870.[1]

During the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), Prussian forces, having taken Paris, were progressing south towards Lyon. Their halt and retreat were, once again, attributed by the Church to the intercession of the Virgin Mary.

Speculating on the reasons for the construction of such an elaborate and expensive building, one author makes the statement that: "The reaction to the communes of Paris and Lyon were triumphalist monuments, the Sacré-Coeur of Montmartre and the basilica of Fourvière, dominating both cities. These buildings were erected with private funds, as gigantic ex-votos, to thank God for victory over the socialists and in expiation of the sins of modern France."[3]

Tradition holds that a brother of St. Teresa of Avila brought the statue of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception from Spain to Nicaragua in the 1500s. Several days before December 8, the Catholic Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Nicaraguans begin honoring their patron saint. In the plaza outside the church in the town of El Viejo ("The Old"), people gather on December 6 to polish the silver ex voto objects given over the years in thanks to Our Lady for answered prayers. On December 7, the gritería takes place. Families make splendid altars in their homes which can be seen from outside. People admiring them shout, "¿Quién es la causa de nuestra alegría?" (Who is the cause of our happiness?). Residents of the house answer, "La Concepción de María!" then offer sweets and traditional dishes to the visitors.[3] 

[1] https://www.fourviere.org/en/discover/notre-dame-de-fourviere/basilica-2/

[2] In 1848, the chapel’s old bell tower lost its turret, called “the needle”. The architect Duboys designed the bell tower’s reconstruction. However, his design wasn’t much appreciated. The decision was made to put a statue of the Virgin on top of the new bell tower. Joseph-Hugues Fabisch won the competition and made the Virgin statue in golden bronze. It is 5.60 meters high (18 ft). This huge statue should have been erected on the 8th of September 1852 but a rise of the Saone River resulted in flooding of the foundry workshop, so the inauguration was postponed. Eventually the golden statue of the Virgin was inaugurated on the 8th of December.

Two years later, this improvised festival took on a life of its own when the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was proclaimed. Today, a large procession takes place every December 8th, from Saint Jean to Fourvière. At dusk, Catholics light up their windows with candles. For several years the city of Lyon has organised the “Festival of Lights” which brings together two million people in Lyon for four days of festivities.

[3] https://www.wherewewalked.info/feasts/12-December/12-06.htm

Celebrations

A Jesuit historian recorded that it was originally “made up especially of younger boys from the college, who agreed to go to daily Mass, weekly confession, and monthly Communion, as well as to engage in a half-hour of meditation each day and do some other pious exercises.” The youths who felt drawn to the spirit of the Jesuits and were often called the “Congregation Mariana.” Once formed into a Sodality of Our Lady, they were to do apostolic work in the City of Rome, while also serving the poor. Since the time of its humble beginnings in 1563, twenty-two Sodalists have become Popes.

After Fr Leunis’ death in 1584, Pope Gregory XIII canonically established the Sodality Group of the Roman College in his bull “Omnipotentis Dei.” The sodality of Fr Leunis was declared to be the mother of all such subsequent sodalities. Having attained the status of Prima Primaria, it had gained the right to partner with other similar groups, and through that affiliation ,all could share in the indulgences and privileges of the Prima Primaria, with the General of the Society of Jesus having the authority to grant such an affiliation. These sodalities were established all over Europe, India and Asia, as well as in the Americas and included both sexes. They reached their greatest number in the 17th century, when it was estimated that there were as many as 2500 such groups.

In 1773, Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus and separated the sodalities from their jurisdiction. From that time on it was Catholic bishops who established Marian Sodalities throughout the world.

In 1600, Fray Antonio Tineo traveled to Spain to ask King Felipe III for supplies for Franciscan churches in Guatemala. For the church of San Francisco in Guatemala City, Padre Tineo brought back a new statue of the Immaculate Conception from Queen Margarita's private chapel. Often called the Virgen de los Reyes (Virgin of the Kings), the beloved image has suffered the excesses of devotion with amazing grace. Repeatedly damaged by fireworks and other hazards of popular enthusiasm, the old body has had nine different heads in its 400 years. But like Mary herself, who is seldom depicted in art as old because of a tradition that her Immaculate Conception spared her the curse of Adam, the aged statue remains attractive between its jeweled crown and silver crescent footrest. The image was canonically crowned on December 5, 1954 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. An annual Rezado or prayer procession with the statue takes place on December 8.[1] 

[1] https://www.wherewewalked.info/feasts/12-December/12-05.htm

Celebrations

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “On this day, a Sunday, in the year 1550, the canonesses of Our Lady of Paris being in procession before the image of the Bless Virgin, which is near the door of the choir, a heretic from Lorraine, breaking through the crowd, sword in hand, sought to strike that image, but he was prevented by the assistants, and on the Thursday following, he was executed before the porch of Our Lady.”

Our Lady of Paris, or Notre-Dame de Paris, is a cathedral oftentimes simply known as Notre Dame. It is among the largest churches in the world, completed in French Gothic style. There is a separate room in the church which houses many important relics, including the crown of thorns and one of the nails from Christ’s Passion, a fragment of the True Cross, among other relics. Veneration of the Crown of Thorns takes place on the first Friday of the month, and also on Good Friday.

The city of Paris was evangelized in the 3rd century, and in the year 250 the pope sent them their first bishop, Saint Denis. At that time the Christians were being persecuted throughout the Roman Empire, so Catholics practiced their faith in secret. Saint Denis was martyred within a few years, but his successors continued until Constantine became emperor and ended the persecution.

The first church was built at about that time as an expression of the faith of the people, but the Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris presently occupying the spot was begun in 1163 by Bishop Maurice de Sully. There is a legend that he had a vision of a glorious new cathedral in Paris, and that he himself had drawn the outline for it on the ground where the cathedral now stands. The cornerstone was laid in the presence of Pope Alexander III, but it was not until 1345 that the cathedral was basically completed. The style was a new one, and Notre Dame was one of the first cathedrals to make use of flying buttresses to allow for the large stained-glass windows, including the world famous rose window.

In the year 1548 the cathedral was damaged by Protestants, and various tombs and stained glass windows were destroyed. It was probably at about this time that the incident the Abbot Orsini refers to occurred. In 1793 the cathedral suffered desecration during the French Revolution, and much of the art and many of the relics were damaged or stolen. The cathedral was for a time used as a warehouse to store food.

In 1801 the cathedral was given back to the Catholic church, and in 1804 the coronation ceremony of Napoleon I took place there. The Cathedral of Notre Dame has been repaired and restored several times since then, and is now again in use for its intended purpose.

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate dedicated the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto of the Southwest on December 7, 1941, a date more famous for the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Carved of stone, the grotto is a replica of the place in France where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858. The Oblates, a Catholic order of priests and brothers devoted to serving the poor, maintain the grotto as a focus for their lay group, the Missionary Association. In 1999 they added a Tepeyac Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe at the site, and in 2003 a Ministry Center. The Oblate School of Theology is nearby.[2]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_de_Paris

[2] https://www.wherewewalked.info/feasts/12-December/12-07.htm

Celebrations

The MADONNA OF PHILERMO is an ancient sacred icon painted, according to legend, by Saint Luke, which had travelled miraculously across the sea from Jerusalem to Mount Phileremos on the island of Rhodes, where it was kept in a shrine, which later became a sanctuary.  From earliest times the icon was venerated as an object of great devotion. Christianity was brought to Rhodes by Saint Paul (as later to Malta) so the Christian community on this island was of great antiquity.

The church of Our Lady of Victory in Paris was built in 1629 by King Louis XIII in thanksgiving for favors granted him by the Blessed Mother. The parishioners for a century and a half were known for their devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

With the French Revolution the church fell upon evil ways and days. All sorts of outrages were performed in it by the revolutionists. Afterwards it was used by a schismatic sect and later became a stock exchange. In 1809 it was restored to its original purpose but there were few parishioners left.

Father Charles Fritche des Gennettes was transferred to the church of Our Lady of Victories in 1832. He had been the pastor of Catherine Laboure. Father noticed that scarcely anyone came to Mass or received the sacraments. He tried all in his power, but to no avail, to bring the people back to the faith. Discouraged, he decided it was his duty as a failure to resign.

On Sunday, December 3, while saying Mass in an almost empty church, he, at the cannon of the Mass, cried out in distress. At that moment he heard a calm distinct voice say very solemnly:

“Consecrate your parish to the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

After Mass he wondered whether he had imagined it; then again during his thanksgiving, he heard the same words. No longer doubting, he took a pen and composed the rules for the confraternity of Our Lady and received the Bishop’s approval the same week.

The following Sunday, he told the ten people at Mass about his project and said there would be vespers of Our Lady that evening, and afterwards all details of the Confraternity of Our Lady would be given.

When Father Gennettes entered the church that evening, he found it filled for the first time in years; more than 400 people were there. The parish continued to flourish from then on. People came to the church from all other parts of Paris and France and finally, all parts of the world knew of the famous shrine, which now holds about 90,000 thank offerings for cures and favors.

On the Piazza del Popolo in Rome, there used to be a small church run by Carmelite friars, called St. Mary of the Holy Mountain after Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. The church housed a miraculous Madonna and Child, believed to have been painted by an 11-year-old girl with supernatural help. After the painting was canonically crowned on December 3, 1659, Cardinal Gerolamo Gastaldi decided to build the Madonna a more splended sanctuary. It was the work of three great architects. Gian Lorenzo Bernini modified Carlo Rainaldi's original plan to give the building an oval shape more in keeping with its site, and Carlo Fontana supervised its completion in 1679. Around the same time the "twin" church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli was built next door. The painting, hard to date but typical of the late 1400s, occupies a large columned altarpiece with stucco angels by Filippo Carcani. In 1953, Pius XII designated the Basilica di Santa Maria in Montesanto the official church for artists, who still come before the Virgin seeking divine help.[3]

[1] https://saintjohnofjerusalem.blogspot.com/p/icon-of-our-lady-of-philermo.html

[2] https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/our-lady-of-victory-paris.html

[3] https://www.wherewewalked.info/feasts/12-December/12-03.htm

Celebrations

In Cappadocia, the Abbot Orsini recounts a tale involving Our Lady of Didinia, Saint Basil, and Emperor Julian the Apostate. Threatening the city of Caesarea, Julian sought destruction due to a grudge. Saint Basil gathered people on Mount Didinia, where an ancient Marian church stood. After three days of prayer and fasting, Basil had a vision of Mary, who foretold Julian's death. In this vision, Mary instructed Basil to summon Saint Mercurius (Mercury) to defeat Julian. Saint Mercurius, aided by a sword from St. Michael, vanquished the enemy in a miraculous victory. Subsequently, Saint Basil and Libanius found St. Mercurius' missing arms at the Church of Saint Mercury. The news of Julian's death spread joy among the faithful, and upon returning to the city, they discovered St. Mercurius' lance back in its place, wet with blood. Julian had died in Persia from a spear wound on the same night St. Mercurius' weapons went missing, fulfilling the vision foretelling the tyrant's demise..[1]

The pilgrimage to Our Lady of Liesse in Picardy, dating back to the twelfth century, is renowned for its celebrity surpassing other French pilgrimages. The origin of the Blessed Virgin statue at this holy site has a miraculous tale rooted in the Holy Land.

During the Crusades, Foulques of Anjou, King of Jerusalem, entrusted the fortress of Bersabee to the knights of Saint John. Three knights from Picardy, captured by Muslims, resisted conversion attempts despite imprisonment. The Sultan, seeking their allegiance, sent his daughter to convince them, but the knights, unmoved, persuaded her towards Christianity.

The turning point came with the appearance of Our Lady of Liesse, a miraculous image brought by angels. The princess aided their escape, and they traveled towards Alexandria. As they rested, they awoke in Picardy, not knowing how they got there. Believing it to be the work of the Holy Virgin, they built a church for Our Lady of Liesse, converting the princess.

The pilgrimage gained fame, attracting notable figures like the Duke of Burgundy, Louis II of Bourbon, and others who left rich presents. Despite pillaging during the Reformation and the French Revolution, the chapel of Our Lady of Liesse remains a popular pilgrimage site today.

Hidelberg J. Ferrino, a sculptor from the Argentine coast, got the idea for the monumental statue of the Virgin of Bethlehem while vacationing in the north in 1977. His old Ford Falcon broke down, and he was stuck in Belén for some time waiting for parts. He became friends with a local official, "Chichí" Jais, brother of the parts dealer, who drummed up support for the project along with the parish priest. The giant image of the town's patroness became a community effort; materials ascended the hill by burro and in the hands of schoolchildren. It was finally installed on the summit of El Tiro overlooking Belén on December 2, 1982, before a large and emotional crowd. The white cement Virgin blesses the valley, holding the child in her left arm and a loaf of bread in her right hand.[3] 

[1] https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/our-lady-of-didinia.html

[2] https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/our-lady-of-liesse.html

[3] https://www.wherewewalked.info/feasts/12-December/12-02.htm

Celebrations

The Cathedral of Notre Dame du Puy is one of the oldest Marian sanctuaries in Europe, since pilgrims have been coming here since the V century. The Black Virgin is venerated here especially on the 25th. March, the day of the Annunciation, and on the 15th. August, feast of the Assumption, when her statue is carried in procession by local inhabitants through the streets of Le Puy.

Notre-Dame-du-Port, Clermont-Ferrand, Puy de Dôme, Auvergne, France

Clermont-Ferrand is located on a plain in the volcanic region of central France. Unlike most hub cities, it is not on a body of water. And yet for a thousand years Clermont's eastern district has been known as the Port. In the crypt of its Romanesque church of Our Lady of the Port, dating to the early 1100s, is an unusual Black Virgin, a polychromed walnut statue just under a foot high, carved by the Paquin family workshop in 1734. Mary cradles the child against her cheek, as in Eleusa or Tenderness icons such as the pre-Iconoclastic Glykophilousa of Mt. Athos; the Virgin of Vladimir, sent from Constantinople to Kiev in 1131; and Notre-Dame de Grâce, given in 1450 to Cambrai Cathedral in northern France. 

The Jesuits began the construction of the original church of Cainta in 1707. The stone church, which was then under the patronage of St. Andrew the Apostle, was completed in 1716.

 The devotion to Madre Santissima del Lumen (also known as Our Lady of Light, Nuestra Señora de la Luz , Virgen ng Caliuanagan, and Maria, Ina ng Kaliwanagan) was introduced in 1727 through a painting brought by the Jesuits to Cainta from Sicily. The painting, which is an elaborate rendition of an Italian visionary’s account of the Blessed Virgin’s apparition, depicted Mary as mother, protector, and queen. ​​​​​​​

In 1987, sculptor Juan Ventura carved the cedarwood statue of St. Mary of Peace for the Confraternity of the Most Holy Risen Christ, which stages a dramatic reenactment of the risen Jesus and his mother every Easter.

On December 1, 2007, the image was installed in the parish church of Santa María. Juan Ventura (b. 1954) is a Sevillan imagenero, religious image-maker, practicing an art long associated with the Catholic brotherhoods of the Spanish-speaking world. A disciple of sculptor Francisco Buiza (1922-1983), who studied under Sebastián Santos (1895-1976), he has fashioned devotional statues for groups throughout southern Spain. Cordoban imagenero Francisco Romero Zafra (b. 1956) restored the image of Our Lady of Peace in 2000. The Confraternity celebrates the feast of St. Mary of Peace in the parish church of St. Mary on January 24.[4] 

Celebrations

Maybe we think the same way about imitating Her, or imitating Jesus. Saint Bernard says the same thing: “For no other son save God would have been worthy of the Virgin nor would any mother but the Virgin have been worthy of God.”

[1] Orsini – Barthe – Hahn, The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 555.

Celebrations

[1] Orsini – Barthe – Hahn, The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 555.

[2] https://immaculate.one/la-madonna-del-giorno-26-novembre-nostra-signora-di-soufanieh-damasco-siria/

Celebrations

[1] Orsini – Barthe – Hahn, The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 555.

[2] https://immaculate.one/la-madonna-del-giorno-28-novembre-1981-nyrina-wa-jambo-kibeho-nyaruguru-provincia-meridionale-ruanda/