Our Lady Octave
Every year in the weeks between the third and fifth of Easter Sunday in the Luxembourg Cathedral , the octave celebration (actually a double octave ), that is the pilgrimage to the miraculous image of the Mother of God as a comforter of the afflicted place.
The approx. 73 cm high miraculous image , carved from linden wood, is a statue of Mary that carries the baby Jesus on her left arm. The right foot crushes the snake's head, and at its feet lies the crescent moon. The statue probably comes from Scherpenheuvel / Montaigu in Belgium.
history
This pilgrimage goes back to the Jesuit priest Jacques Brocquart (1588–1660). He had acquired a piece of land in front of the city gates, on what is now the Glacis field. Here on December 8, 1624, together with the students of the Jesuit college, he erected a figure of Mary carved out of linden wood, which was to be venerated there from now on. As early as the following year, thanks to the abundant donations, the foundation stone for a small Marienkapelle was laid. When the plague broke out in 1626 and Father Brocquart himself became ill, he made a vow that if he was ever well he would complete the chapel, go barefoot there and offer a two-pound candle . He named the statue " Comforter of the Afflicted ". After he had fully recovered after a few days, he kept his promise, and so the sanctuary could be inaugurated on May 10, 1626.
Soon thousands of pilgrims from all over the country were making pilgrimages to the statue. Mary became the comforter of the afflicted when war, famine and plague afflicted the people. Various unspecified miracles are said to have occurred. In 1639 the miraculous image was transferred from the glacis to the Jesuit church (which was elevated to a cathedral in 1870 ), venerated there for eight days (hence " octave ") and carried back to the chapel on the glacis in a festive final procession.
In 1666 there was another plague and danger of war. On October 10, 1666, the Provincial Council, the City Magistrate and the Estates elected the Comforter of the Afflicted to be the patron saint of Luxembourg City . That is why the octave was celebrated on the second Sunday in October. When Louis XIV . Having broken the Peace of Aachen in 1672 and destroyed the cities of Bitburg and Remich, Our Lady was chosen to be the patron saint of the whole of Luxembourg (February 20, 1678). Two years later, the octave was moved to the period between the fourth and fifth Sunday in Easter time. This eight-day period was extended for the first time in 1898 by moving the beginning half a week forward. The second extension took place in 1921, when the beginning was moved forward a further half a week, thus establishing the period from the third to the fifth Sunday after Easter, which is still valid today.
In 1766 the parish had an elaborate votive altar made, on which the miraculous image is placed during the octave to this day. Because the Glacis chapel was destroyed during the French Revolution , the statue was given its permanent place in the Jesuit church in 1794. The octave was gradually forgotten. In the 19th century the octave experienced a revival, and in 1922, under Bishop Nommesch, the annual pilgrimage of the octave was extended to two weeks. For this purpose, German and Luxembourgish pilgrimage songs were composed, which are sung to this day, for example “As our fathers pleaded with you, oh comforter”, “Laments the poor heart” or “Léif Mamm, ech weess et net ze son, how do you make sense! ". A small print of the Luxembourg Madonna arrived in Germany on the Lower Rhine in 1642 and became the image of the Virgin Mary pilgrimage in Kevelaer, which is still venerated today .
During the Second World War, a particularly large number of people sought consolation and hope from the “comforter of the afflicted”. In 2008, the Luxembourg restorer Muriel Prieur restored the statue to its original state in around 500 hours of work.
Expiration of the octave
Even today, 350 years after it began, the octave of Our Lady is a highlight and an integral part of church life in Luxembourg. It begins with an opening prayer . After the devotion, delegates from other parishes bring gifts to the altar that symbolize the fruits of the field, the vine and human labor. The two-week pilgrimage ends with a procession through the streets of downtown Luxembourg. The event is part of the country's official intangible cultural heritage .
literature
- Sonja Kmec: The Octave of Our Lady through the ages , in: Marie-Paule Jungblut, Michel Pauly and Heinz Reif (eds.) Luxembourg, a city in Europe. Spotlights on more than 1000 years of European urban history. Luxembourg, MHVL, p. 271-285.
- Sonja Kmec: Marienland Luxembourg. L'historiographie du culte de Notre-Dame de Luxembourg entre aspirations universelles et ancrage national , in: Hémecht. Revue d'histoire luxembourgeoise 66, 3/4, p. 493-512.
- Michael Faltz: Home of Our Lady of Luxembourg. 3rd edition St. Paulus Verlag, Luxembourg 1948.
- Volker Zotz and Friederike Migneco (eds.): Totus tuus. Marian book on the Luxembourg Octave of Our Lady. Kairos, Luxembourg 2004, ISBN 2-9599829-9-1 (text in German and French).
- Michel Schmitt, Georges Hellinghausen, Christianity and Church in Luxembourg , Vol. 2 Church in the Becoming and Growing of a People, Editions du Signe, Strasbourg, 1990, ISBN 2-87718-034-4
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b “This mother is given to each of us!” Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich presides over the moving opening devotion of the Octave of Our Lady. In: Luxemburger Wort , April 22, 2013, pages 14/15
- ↑ Flyer: Octave 2013 , March 2013 edition, published by Luxemburg City Tourist Office & Èglise catholique à Luxembourg
- ↑ The Octave , entry on the National Register website, accessed November 30, 2018.