OUR LADY OF THE TABLES
Feast Day: January 20
 |
| A painted portrait of Our Lady |
The Basilica of Our Lady of the Tables is intimately linked
to the history of the city of Montpellier. It is located on the outskirts of
town at Montpellier, France. The shrine is said to have taken it’s name from
the many tables of merchants and money changers who stood about the church in
the Middle Ages, for the church was a stopping point for pilgrims to pray while
on their way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
There once stood at this site a very ancient, renowned church containing a shrine of Mary – the Blessed Virgin Mary holding her Son in her arms, extended over the city, so to say. She stood upon a byzantine pedestal or table, and was fondly called the “arm of the city of Montpellier.” The final destruction of the ancient church of Our Lady of the Tables occurred during the French Revolution, and now only the crypt and burial vaults remain.
This statue housed at the shrine was a famous statue of black wood – Notre-Dame-des-Tables. In an attempt to preserve it during the Protestant uprisings the icon was hidden for a long time within a silver statue of the Blessed Virgin, life-size, and screened from the public view. It was stolen by the Calvinists and has since disappeared from history.
The current basilica was begun after the French Revolution had ended. Although the statue has disappeared, the people of Montpellier believe Mary still extends her arms over the children of the city, as mentioned above. Her arms of love wield miraculous power, for she is the Mother of God.
There once stood at this site a very ancient, renowned church containing a shrine of Mary – the Blessed Virgin Mary holding her Son in her arms, extended over the city, so to say. She stood upon a byzantine pedestal or table, and was fondly called the “arm of the city of Montpellier.” The final destruction of the ancient church of Our Lady of the Tables occurred during the French Revolution, and now only the crypt and burial vaults remain.
This statue housed at the shrine was a famous statue of black wood – Notre-Dame-des-Tables. In an attempt to preserve it during the Protestant uprisings the icon was hidden for a long time within a silver statue of the Blessed Virgin, life-size, and screened from the public view. It was stolen by the Calvinists and has since disappeared from history.
The current basilica was begun after the French Revolution had ended. Although the statue has disappeared, the people of Montpellier believe Mary still extends her arms over the children of the city, as mentioned above. Her arms of love wield miraculous power, for she is the Mother of God.
Post a Comment