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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