medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear Chuck,
Thanks for this, but which Fiacre is this? The only one I know of is Fiacre of Meaux,
indeed a gardener saint, but who was an Irish hermit who died in 670, almost a
millennium before the time of Louix XIV.
Jim
On 27 Dec 2006 at 20:11, Chuck B wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> Jim,
>
> Fiacre also has an infant story, but it is about Louis XIV, rather than
> the Christ child:
>
> "Fiacre built an oratory in honor of the Virgin Mary where he met those
> in need of shelter, advice and, on occasion, healing. One night, the
> Blessed Virgin came to him in a dream. In his vision, Mary appeared
> carrying a baby which she held out to him saying, "The child I hold is
> not mine, but the son God wants to give France." The Virgin went on to
> say that for this to pass, the Queen was to pay homage to her in three
> churches: Notre-Dame-de-Paris and Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, both in Paris,
> but also Notre-Dame-de-la-Visitation in the town of Sept, nearly 2,000
> miles away. At the ecumenical hearing to verify the authenticity of his
> claim, Fiacre was able to describe the church in the south of France
> stone by stone--despite never having been there in his life.
>
> "Yet even happier proof of his vision came one year later. On September
> 5 1638, Anne d'Autriche, the Queen of France gave birth to a son. Louis
> XIV was christened Dieudonné, French for "Gift from God", but became
> known as "the Grand Monarch" because, as France's longest reigning king,
> he was succeeded not by his son, but by his grandson.
>
> "After the birth of her son and heir to the throne, Anne showed her
> gratitude to Mary by building a church on the land of the Benedictine
> convent she had so often visited. Louis XIV himself laid the cornerstone
> for the Val-de-Grâce in a ceremony that took place April 1st 1645. And
> *then* they lived happily ever after..."
>
> Three of Fiacre's usual icons, the cane, the shovel (maybe more of a
> plow), and birds are clearly there. The other two, the rosary and open
> book, may be behind and above the infant.
>
> Chuck
>
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