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marian
anniversaries may
May 27
Notre-Dame des Malades, Vichy, Allier, Auvergne, France
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To accommodate the many Catholics coming to take its healing waters, in 1672
the spa town of Vichy began enlarging the church of St. Blaise. When the work
was completed, on March 26, 1714, the dark walnut statue of Our Lady of the Sick
was installed there. Dating from the 1300s and associated with many miracles,
the statue was decapitated during the French Revolution, and its dresses,
jewels, and crowns dispersed. An 11-year-old boy, Claude Baffier, saved the
head (right). In 1801, with a new body, the Black Virgin was reinstalled in St. Blaise.
The next year Our Lady of the Sick made the first of her torchlight processions
through the old town, still performed annually on the Feast of the Assumption,
August 15. During the heyday of spa therapy between the wars, demand outgrew the
church of St. Blaise, and a new church was built adjoining it in 1931. The art
deco concrete dome is a jewelbox of mosaics, stained glass, and enamelwork. Atop
it is a 16' statue of Our Lady of the Sick. The Black Virgin, crowned on May 27,
1937, still receives homage in old St. Blaise.
Sources:
 | "Église Saint-Blaise de Vichy," Wikipédia,
fr.wikipedia.org |
| "Monument Historique Vichy," La Commune, la Mairie
de Vichy et sa ville (France / Auvergne),
www.annuaire-mairie.fr/monument-historique-vichy.html |
| Alain Carteret, "Patrimoine Vichy," Site Carteret,
carteret.pagesperso-orange.fr/Patrimoine%20Vichy.htm (photo of
interior statue) |
| Gabriel, "Notre Dame des…, Promenade,
August 13,
2010, maisonsaintpaul.over-blog.com/categorie-10290928.html (photo of
exterior statue) |
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Also commemorated this date:
| Nossa Senhora da Penha, Monte Alegre, Natal, Brazil
(Our Lady of the Crag). Church blessed, 1871. Festa late October. |
| Nuestra Seńora de Lourdes, Iquique, Tarapacá, Chile, Cavancha district.
Grotto blessed, 1923. Fiesta February 11. |
| Gua Maria Fatima Sendang Waluyojatiningsih, Klepu, Ponorogo, East Java,
Indonesia. Grotto dedicated, 1988. |
| Madonna dei Lavoratori, Turin, Piedmont, Italy (Madonna of the Workers).
Monumental hilltop statue blessed, 1960. |
| Madonna della Misericordia, Monteleone di Fermo, Ascoli Piceno, Marche,
Italy (Madonna of Mercy). Church consecrated, 1543. |
| Beata Vergine della Tempesta, Tolentino, Macerata, Marche, Italy. Statue
crowned, 1814. |
| Liberatrice dei Flagelli, Boscoreale, Napoli, Campania, Italy (Liberator
from Plagues). Festa commemorates finding of miraculous image. |
| Santa Maria Madre della Chiesa, Brindisi, Apulia, Italy, Casale district (Jaddico).
Marian Day commemorates supernatural illumination of old fresco in 1963. |
| Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Hulsterloo, Nieuw-Namen, Hulst, Zeeland, Netherlands.
Rebuilt chapel dedicated, 1995. |
| Senhora da Piedade, Santarém, Alentejo, Portugal. Pietŕ statue changed
appearance during Spanish invasion of region in 1663. Festa. |
| Panna Mária Frivaldská, Rajecká Lesná, Žilina, Slovakia. Church
consecrated, 1866. Feast September 8. |
| Virgen de los Dolores de Chandavila, La Codosera, Badajoz, Extremadura,
Spain (Virgin of Sorrows). Fiesta last Sunday of May commemorates
apparition May 27, 1945 to girls Marcelina and Afra Brigida Blanco and shrine
dedication May 27, 1947. |
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