OUR LADY OF LYONS

Day 342: April 19

Our Lady of Lyons, France



St Pothinus, the Apostle of Gaul, is said to have kept a painting of Our Lady in an underground chapel that now sits beneath the church of St Nazaire in Lyons, where many Christians suffered death in the Ancient Forum on the hill called "Hill of Blood."

In 1186 the Canons of the Cathedral began to build a larger church above the sanctuary. In thanksgiving for the care of his son by Saint Pothinus, King Louis VII of France made a pilgrimage to Lyon, where he had a votive tablet made in front of the sanctuary of Our Lady. In 1466, King Louis XI founded a daily Mass in perpetuity, always followed by the solemnly sung Salve Regina.

Vast pilgrimages had come to seek Mary's help, especially in times of famine and pestilence. During the plague of 1643, it was decided to dedicate the city to Our Lady. Immediately all traces of the plague vanished and, until 1792, twenty-five Masses were celebrated every day in thanksgiving.

During the years of the French Revolution, the sanctuary was desecrated. Sometimes pilgrims came to visit the shrine during the night, risking their lives. In 1805, Pope Pius VII himself presided over the opening or reopening of the sanctuary. Shortly before the Battle of Waterloo, the sanctuary was threatened with destruction when Napoleon wanted to fortify the hill. The Marshall was supposed to give the order to demolish the sanctuary, but he refused to do so.

Since the city was spared many vicissitudes during the revolutions of 1830 and 1848, the people of Lyon decided to show their gratitude by building a high tower in the church surmounted by a large bronze figure of Our Lady.

After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, a vast basilica, the Basilica of Fourvière, dedicated to Our Lady, was built next to the old sanctuary, which remained almost intact.


St Justin Russolillo Writes...

"He came through the work of the Holy Spirit sent by the Father in you, truly your Son and you immediately came to us, sent by your Son in the Holy Spirit, to accomplish in us with the Holy Spirit the work of Sanctification."

(Justin Russolillo, Devotional, Vocationist Editions, Pianura, 2009, p. 163)

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