Our Lady of Miracles

In the peninsula formed by the Marne before it flows into the Seine, at Saint-Maur-des-Fossés Saint-Maur-des-Fossés Location of the principal sanctuary of Our Lady of Miracles. , is the sanctuary of Our Lady of Miracles. Towards the middle of the 7th century, in 645, during the reign of Clovis II, a dignitary of the Church of Paris, the archdeacon Blidegisil l'archidiacre Blidégésile Archdeacon of the Church of Paris and founder of the monastery of Saint-Maur. us, founded a monastery in this place with a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and to the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

The marvelous traditions associated with this Church did not take long to attract a large number of pilgrims. Indeed, an ancient tradition held that the Savior had come in person to dedicate it. Furthermore, it was a general belief that in 1061, William, Count of Corbeil, heir to the piety of his an Guillaume, comte de Corbeil Count who commissioned the miraculous statue of the Virgin. cestors and their zeal for the Abbey of Saint-Maur, having wished to donate an image representing the Virgin standing at the foot of the cross, this statue was found fully formed without the hand of man, at the moment when the sculptor Rumel was pre paring to rough-he le sculpteur Rumel Sculptor who witnessed the miraculous creation of the statue. w the wood from which he intended to carve it; which the historian of Saint-Maur expressed by the following title given to his account: *Iconia beatae Mariae virginis quam effigavit virtus Altissimi.*

Whatever the origin of this statue may be, it is certain that by praying at its feet, countless healings were obtained, which caused the chapel where it was placed to be called by the name of Our Lady of Miracles and made it so venerable that the monks of Saint-Maur never entered it except barefoot.

In the fourteenth century, the church that possessed such a precious sanctuary was almost entirely rebuilt; the chapel of Our Lady of Miracles was reconstructed outside the basilica, on the site of the previous church, and preserved the miraculous statue. This renewal of the edifice seemed to renew the piety of the faithful, and the attendance became greater than ever. People came there in crowds, especially on June 24.

More than eight hundred years had passed since the Blessed Virgin was thus honored in this chapel when Mgr de Gondy, first Archbishop of Paris and ex officio dean of the chapter of Saint-Maur, authorized the establishment of a confraternity under the name of Our Lady of Miracles, by ordinance of August 3, 1624 ; and, on May 13, 1 le pape Urbain VIII Pope who beatified Josaphat. 627, Pope Urban VIII granted several indulgences to the faithful of both sexes who would join this confraternity.

A few years later, moved by a special devotion to Our Lady of Miracles, Father de Condren, that man le père de Condren Superior General of the Oratory and spiritual director of Olier. eminent in holiness, the oracle and model of the clergy of his time, gathered in community at Saint-Maur a certain number of elite ecclesiastics to train them there, under the gaze of Mary, in priestly virtues and to prepare them for the works of the apostolate. M. O lier, ea M. Olier Founder of the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice. ger to join this pious company, left his mother's house and entered the new community founded at Saint-Maur. There, he loved to spend long hours in the chapel of Our Lady of Miracles, pouring out his heart into the heart of Mary his mother, and he later testified that he had received many graces in this holy place.

Unfortunately, in 1791, the holy chapel was destroyed; but the miraculous image was, before the arrival of the demolishers, transferred with great pomp to a chapel in the church of Saint-Maur where it remains today. There, after the dark days of the revolution, the practices and solemnities in use in the old chapel were re-established; in the month of May 1806, the ancient confraternity was reorganized, and Pius VI Pie VII Pope who authorized the cult of Blessed Rainier. I granted it numerous indulgences. Each year, on the second Sunday of July, the feast of the dedication of this chapel is celebrated with an octave, followed by a solemn service for the deceased members of the confraternity; and each month a procession with a station at the chapel reminds the faithful of the devotion to Our Lady of Miracles so dear to their ancestors. The pilgrimage continues to be frequented, and the surrounding parishes visit it with eagerness.

Notre-Dame de la Délivrande, a chapel of recent foundation, a short distance from Rauville-la-Plac Rauville-la-Place Location of the sanctuary of Notre-Dame de la Délivrande. e, in the diocese of Coutances, was built towards the beginning of the 16th century, on the very site of an ancient chapel of Saint James. As pilgrims flocked from all parts to this sanctuary, it became necessary to lengthen and widen the nave and multiply the altars; and these enlargements provoked, along with new pilgrims, not only a gathering of foreign priests who had at heart to offer the holy sacrifice there, but also the establishment of a chaplain charged with regularly serving the devout chapel. From that time until the dark days of '93, the devotion of the people to this sanctuary never slackened. If danger prevented its manifestation for some time, it was made to burst forth as soon as it could be done without peril; and in 1800, one could see up to fourteen parishes come in procession with crosses and banners to solicit the cessation of a drought that was about to destroy the harvests. An abundant rain, the reward of their faith, came within the very week to restore life to the crops and hope to the inhabitants. At that time, the priests were still in exile; but the faithful came nonetheless, on the feasts of the Virgin, to sing her praises, to recite prayers at her feet, and above all to ask her for the return of their priests. This return was not long in coming: in 1803, M. Marie, priest of Rauville, arrived from exile and was chaplain of the sanctuary until his death in 1812. During the following years, the chapel was served almost exclusively by the vicars of Rauville who came there each week, on fixed days, to offer the holy sacrifice. But in 1845, it recovered a titular chaplain, who, since then, has not ceased to serve it.

This devout chapel, sixteen meters long by seven wide, illuminated by six beautiful windows, and always kept in perfect cleanliness, possesses a large arch that separates the choir from the nave, a beautiful altarpiece adorned with paintings of Saint Joachim, Saint Anne, and a beautiful statue of the Virgin which seems to be from the end of the sixteenth century. It is surmounted by an elegant square-shaped bell tower with artistically made openings. Against its exterior walls is a stone pulpit, to allow the word of God to be heard on days of large gatherings, when its enclosure is too narrow to contain the crowd of listeners; and, above the portal, a Virgin engraved on a stone cross, of the most ancient form, is offered to public veneration.

Such is the devotion to this chapel that in 1821 a single man, a simple building contractor, took upon himself all the work of consolidation, enlargement, and even embellishment that it required, without demanding any other compensation than the offerings of the faithful for fourteen years, while, on the other hand, the Reverend Father du Mesnildot and his family paid for the paneling and the paving of the nave and the sacristy. Every day, with the exception of the months of December and January, as well as Sundays, pilgrims come there, most of whom receive communion; and on Whit Monday, June 24th, and September 8th, there are up to four to five hundred people, at least two hundred of whom approach the holy Table. Thus, the Bishop of Coutances has authorized the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament there, and the Holy See has granted the favor of a privileged altar with relics of several Saints.

One cannot describe the favors that the Blessed Virgin dispenses in this sanctuary. One can judge by the truly extraordinary number of masses of thanksgiving that are celebrated there, or candles that gratitude sends there. The parish priest of Rauville cites, among others, several healings of which he attests to having been a witness. These are, in 1845, a sailor from Granville saved from a storm by invoking Notre-Dame de Rauville, and shortly after, his child struck by cerebral fever, despaired of by doctors, cured suddenly as soon as his grandmother recommended him to Notre-Dame de Rauville; it is, in 1846, a woman from Fresville who walked only with difficulty with crutches, and who was suddenly delivered from her infirmity; it is, in 1848, the schoolteacher of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, saved in Paris, by the invocation of Notre-Dame de Rauville, from an imminent peril of death with which the bullets of the fratricidal war of that time threatened him. It is, in 1850, another inhabitant of Saint-Sauveur, attacked by a frightful storm while returning from Chile, and saved by a prayer to the Virgin of Rauville. It is, at all times, the serenity obtained in bad weather, the rain in droughts, the preservation or cessation of evil in epidemics or public calamities. Thus, in 1832, the parish of Quettehou, invaded by cholera, made a vow to go on a pilgrimage to Notre-Dame de Rauville, and immediately the cholera ceased its ravages. In 1840, the parish of Doville came in procession to ask for the end of a drought that was about to destroy the harvests, and the inhabitants returned home drenched by the rain.

Near Saint-Thomas, in the diocese of Toulouse, one sees a famous shrine of the Blessed Virgin, called Our Lady of the Cross, where, in fulfillment of a very ancient vow, the parish of Saint-Thomas formerly went in procession every Sunday and feast day of the month of May, as well as on the four principal feasts of the Virgin; and, on the day following the four principal feasts of the year, a solemn mass was celebrated there. This chapel, demolished in '93, has been rebuilt since the revolution. On June 24th, or, if there is an impediment, the following Sunday, the parishes of Saint-Thomas and Bragayrac go there simultaneously to obtain protection from hail; and there is then exposition and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. One can gain a plenary indulgence there, first on March 14th, when the feast of the Compassion is celebrated, then every Sunday and holy day of obligation in the month of May; finally, on the day in the month of June when the procession for the fruits of the earth takes place.

The canton of Plémeur, at the end of the Lorient roadstead, pos sesses Larmor Site of the maritime sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Larmor. a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Larmor, in the village of that name; this chapel was in such great veneration in the last century that every vessel entering or leaving the Lorient roadstead would salute it with a cannon shot while passing before it: it was like a common prayer addressed to the Star of the Sea for all those who were going to face the dangers of navigation, or an act of thanksgiving for those returning from their long voyage. For half a century, this ancient custom was interrupted; but, for the last ten years, it has been resumed to the great satisfaction of the sailors. This chapel has been famous for many centuries for the annual blessing of the arm of the sea that separates the island of Groix from the mainland, which is called the Coureau de Groix. This ceremony takes place on June 24th, with the goal of obtaining an abundant sardine catch, the sole resource of the inhabitants of this coast. On the morning of Saint John's Day, a multitude of peasants, fishermen, and inhabitants of Lorient and Port-Louis arrive at the village of Larmor. Soon the clergy of Plémeur, cross and banner at the head, leave the chapel, proceed to the shore, and take their place in a boat prepared in advance to receive them. A large number of fishing boats, manned by fishermen and onlookers, surround the skiff and accompany it to the middle of the Coureau, which is three marine leagues wide. Arrived at this point, after a crossing more or less long, depending on whether the sea is calm or turbulent, the wind favorable or contrary, the procession stops to wait for the procession from the island of Groix, if it has not already arrived at the rendezvous. As soon as it has arrived, the clergy of the island pass into the boat of the clergy of Plémeur, and the two parochial crosses incline toward each other until they touch. At this signal, chants rise at once from all the boats gathered, numbering several hundred, and continue until the parish priest of Plémeur, standing on one of the benches of his skiff, imposing silence with his hand, warns that the blessing is about to begin. Then he addresses a prayer to God and to the patroness of sailors; then he sprinkles the sea to the four cardinal points, and during this solemn ceremony, all heads are uncovered and bowed, all hands joined. Masters and sailors have abandoned the rudder and the oars. All mouths are silent, except for a soft and confused murmur of prayers and pious orisons, which escape from all the chests religiously moved in the presence of an act to which all attach the success of their future fishing and the existence of their families.

Monsieur the Parish Priest of Saint-Sulpice: Our Lady of France.