OUR LADY OF THE THORN

Day 316: March 24

Our Lady of the Thorn, Champagne-Ardenne, France



The sanctuary of Our Lady of the Thorn (Madonna della Spina) is located on the poor plateau overlooking the Vesle river, which has always been a place of pilgrimage, thanks to the discovery of the famous stone statue of the Virgin in a bramble.

On this uncultivated land, the herds grazed in the middle of the hawthorn bushes in the shade of a chapel dedicated to St John the Baptist as early as 1230. According to the oral tradition handed down and then written in 1721 by Abbot Baugier, the origin of the construction of the sanctuary was due to the discovery of a miraculous statue of the Virgin, on the eve of the Annunciation in 1400.

On March 24, 1400, some shepherds were attracted by a mysterious light that appeared on a bush of brambles, inside which they found a stone statue of the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus in her arms. It was a Gothic statue, probably dating back to 1300 and considering that there was already a famous sanctuary in that area, it can be expected that it was part of its treasure.

Only 6 years after the discovery, work began on the construction of a church, which was completed only in 1527. The Gothic building dominated the fields of Champagne and Pope Pius X elevated it to a Minor Basilica in 1914.

The feast of Our Lady of the Thorn is celebrated on May 8 with the rosary and Holy Mass, as well as a diocesan pilgrimage the following Sunday.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"O most Holy Mary, in the most perfect and complete way, we want to be your slaves and sons, your disciples and priests. And you are most present, O Mary, to all our teachers and ministerial priests."

(Justin Russolillo, Devotional, Vocationist Editions, Pianura, 2009, p. 93)

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