marian anniversaries     may

May 27

Notre-Dame des Malades, Vichy, Allier, Auvergne, France

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)

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.
 

Where We Walked ~~~ Mary Ann Daly