M Is For Mary!

By the time I arrived at Rue du Bac last Friday, blue and white balloons were bobbling in the air and there was already a crowd of people milling around the Le M de Marie carriage parked in front of Chapel of the Miraculous Medal.

Spontaneous singing of Avé Maria filled the air in between the Rosary, while waiting to head towards Notre Dame.

It was the afternoon before Assomption which is a popular national holiday in France and in most European countries.

I always looked forward to walking in the Assomption procession from Notre Dame, but since the fire, they start from other churches.

Catholic and Orthodox Christians both honor the day that the Blessed Virgin Mary’s body and soul returned to Her heavenly home, though on different dates for some Orthodox churches on the Julien calendar.

What a fantastic idea to honor Our Lady Holy Mary Theotokos and celebrate Her apparitions here in France!

Le M de Marie (the M of Marie) processions refers to the wonderfully mysterious outline forming an M throughout the entire country of France.  First some history around this monumental event!

Two horse-drawn carriages, each pulling a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary started the processions in June from two different places in the south of France where the Blessed Mary was seen.  One in the Pyrenees mountains and the other in the Alps!

As you can see on the map this monumental procession will travel to the major places that the Blessed Virgin has appeared!

Lourdes is in the Pyrenees and is, of course, world-renown for healing the sick and welcomes hordes of pilgrims daily.  Saint Bernadette had visions of Mary in the Grotto in 1858.

La Salette is nestled in the southern Alps where Mary appeared to two children in 1846.  There is a large sanctuary that attracts pilgrims.   Only 80 kilometers away is another Marial site Notre Dame de Laus, famous for their apparition and its healing oil.

The two northern sites are Pontmain on the edge of Brittany and Rue du Bac(Paris).  La Chapelle de la Miraculeuse Médaille  on Rue du Bac has become a very popular pilgrimage site and millions of Catholics wear the Médaille Miraculeuse.

It was Saint Catherine Laboré, a nun of the Daughters of Charity who was awakened and summoned by an angel to the chapel where she saw the Blessed Virgin in 1830.

Both eastern and western processions will converge at Pellevoisin.  Pellevoisin lies in the southern part of the Loire valley where an apparition took place in 1876, healing Estelle Faguette who lay dying from tuberculosis.

The necessary logistics to plan such a long procession accumulating over 2000 kilometers is tremendous!  There had to be provisions along the way for the care of the horse and of the marchers!

The public was invited to join the procession wherever they were, either in a tiny village or in large cities such as Lyon and Paris.

Parishes offered meals and accommodation along the route, but most of the young marchers brought tents to camp out each night.  Bagages and supplies for the horse were carried in vehicles that followed.

I was surprised to learn that the horse needed to drink only bottled water not fresh, due to the risk of having colic.  They are given 10 t0 12 kilos(26Lbs) of hay a day and whatever supplements they were used to.

I was also impressed by the invitation for those handicapped who weren’t able to march to ride in the carriage.

Walking pace was slow and they never would cover more than 15 kilometers max a day.  Mondays were a complete day of rest for the horse and marchers.

Both the Eastern and Western processions are expected to arrive in Pellevoisin around the middle of September 2020.

Back to Rue du Bac, while waiting for the procession to begin I saw an older woman aggressively accusing others wearing masks of not having any “faith”.  She avoided though confronting the priests who were all masked next to me!

The Miraculeuse Chapelle is on the same street as the wonderful gourmet grocery, La Grande Epicerie. The popular Bon Marche department store is across the street from the chapel by the way.

After some Marian chants and the Rosary, the horse-drawn carriage turned on Rue de Sevres, heading towards Blvd Saint Germain.

Following were first the top clergy and priests, then various Marian associations each carrying their pretty satin embroidered flags.  I estimated that the procession had attracted about the same amount of marchers as I have witnessed in the past.

As I have mentioned before, walking in these processions is like a prayerful meditation for me.  I sort of lose the sense of time and the distance traveled.

There are chants, recitations of the Rosary, and singing of the Avé Maria that accompany the faithful winding their way through the streets of Paris.

It is a fairly good walk to Notre Dame Cathedral, but though I am aware of my surroundings before I knew it, we were on Blvd Saint Michel crossing over the Seine onto the Quai toward Notre Dame.

Once gathered in front, the Archbishop of Paris presided and recitations were read from several children and adults.

By this time a sprinkling of raindrops started offering some welcome cooling to my skin.  I imagine that the horse was happy to feel the cooling drops too while standing at rest.

Since the fire, there is now a pervasive sadness I feel standing on such sacred grounds, knowing that we can’t go in the Cathedral that has welcomed the prayers of so many millions before throughout the years.

Yet, miraculously Notre Dame still stands looking as mighty as ever despite her fallen steeple.  Her main statue of Mary with Christ was brought out for the occasion as if to welcome us as before.

In times like these of such worldwide tragic circumstances and uncertainty, the loving gaze of Holy Mary offers some comfort and hope to Catholics and Orthodox Christians who honor Her not only as the mother of Jesus but Mother of us all.

Oh Holy Blessed Virgin Mary, protect us all with your tender maternal tenderness and love!