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 PILGRIMAGES

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PILGRIMAGES

of all pilgrimages. It is the first spot to whieh the Christian turned with longing eyes. The earliest recorded pilgrimages go back to the third centurj- with the mention of Bishop Alexander; then in the fourth century came the great impulse given by the Empress Helena who was followed by the Bordeaux Pilgrims and the "PeregrinatioSilvi:e" and others (cf. ActaSS., June, III, 176; Sept., Ill, 56). The action of St. Jerome and his aristocratic lady friends made the custom fashionable and the Latin colony was estab- lished by them which made it continuous (Gregory of Tours, "Hist. Franc", Paris, 1SS6, ed. by Omont; II, 68; V, 181; etc.). So too comes the visit of Arculf, cited by St. Bede ("Eccl. Hist.", V, xv, 26.3, ed. Giles, London, 1847) from the writings of Adamnan; of Cadoc the Welsh bishop mentioned below (cf. St. Andrews); of Probus sent by Gregory I to establish a hospice in Jerusalem (Acta SS., March, II, § 23, 150, 158a, etc.). There are also the legendary accounts of King Arthur's pilgrimage, and that of Charlemagne (Paris, "Romania", 1880, 1-50; 1902, 404,616,618). Afew notices occur of the same custom in the tenth century (Beaz- ley, II, 123), but there is a lull in these visits to Jeru- salem till the elev- enth century. Then, at once, a new stream begins to pour over to the East at times in small numbers, as Foulque of Nerra in 1011, ]\Ieingoz took with him onlj- Simon the Hermit, and Ul- ric, later prior of Zell, was accompanieil by one who could chant the psalms with him; at times also in huge forces as in 1026 underRichard II of Normandv, in 1033 a record number (Glabcr, Paris, 1886,IV, 6,106, ed. Prou),inl035anotherunder Robert the Devil (ibid., 128), and most famous of all in 1065 that imder Gunther, Bishop of Bamberg, with twelve thousand pilgrims (Lambertof Gersfield, "Mon.Germ. Hist.", Hanover, 1844, V, 169). This could only lead to the Crusades which stamped the Holy Land on the memory and heart of Christendom. The number who took the Cross seems f abulous(cf . Giraldus Cambrensis, "Itin. Cambria;", II, xiii, 147, in R. S., ed. Dimock, 1868); and many who could not go themselves left instructions for their hearts to be buried there (cf. Hovenden, "Annals", ed. Stubbs, 1869, in R. S., II, 279; "Chron. de Froissart", Bouchon, 1853, Paris, 1853, I, 47; cf. 35-7). So eager were men to take the Cross, that some even branded or cut its mark upon them ("Miracula s. Thoma>", by Abbot Benedict, ed. Giles, 186) or "with a sharpe knyfe he share, A crosse upon his shoulder bare" ("Syr Isenbras" in Utterson, "Early Pop. Poetry", London, 1817, I, 83). From the twelfth century onwards the flow is uninterrupted, Russians (Beazley, II, 156), Northerners (II, 174), Jews (218-74), etc. And the end is not yet ("Itinera hierosolymitana SEeculi IV-VIII", ed. Geyer in the "Corp. script, eccl. lat.", 39, Vienna, 1898; Palestine Pilg. Text Soc, London, 1884 sqq.; "Deutsche Pil- gerreisen nach dem heiligen Lande", II, Innsbruck, 1900, etc.; Brehier, "L'eglise et I'Orient au moyen- agey, Paris, 1907, 10-15, 42-50).

Kat'claer, G adders, is a daughter-shrine to the Madonna of Luxemburg, a copy of which was here enshrined in 1642 and continues to attract pilgrims (Champagnac, I, 875).

La Querela, Viterbo, Italy, is celebrated for its quaint shrine. Within the walls of a church built by Bramantc is a tabernacle of marble that enfolds the wonder-working image, painted of old by Batiste Juzzante and hung up for protection in an oak. A part of the oak still survives within the shrine, which boasts, as of old, its pilgrims (Mortier, "Notre Dame de la Querela", Florence, 1904).

La Salelte, Dauphiny, France, is one of the places where the Blessed \'irgin is said to have appeared in the middle of the nineteenth century. This is no place to discuss the authenticity of the apparition. As a place of pilgrimage it dates from 19 Sept., 1846, imme- diately after which crowds began to flock to the shrine. The annual number of visitors is computed to be about 30,000 (Northcote, "Sanctuaries", 178-229).

La Sarle, Hu)', Belgium, boasts a shrine of the Blessed Virgin that dominates the surrounding coun- try. Perched on the top of a hill, past a long avenue of wayside chapels, is the statue found by chance in 1621 . Year by year during Maj- countless pil- grims organized in parishes climb the steep ascent in in- creasing numbers (Halflants, "Hist.de N.-D. de la Sarte", Huy, 1871).

Laus, H a u t e s - Alpes, France, is one of the many seven- t een t h-cen t ury shrines of the Blessed Virgin. There is the familiar story of an apparition to a shep- herdess with a com- mand to found a church. So popular has this shrine bo- come that the an- nual number of pilgrims is said to be clo.se on 80,000. The chief jiilgrimage times are Pentecost and throughout Oc- tober (Northeote, "Sanctuaries", 146-59).

Le Piiy, Haute-Loire, France, boasts the earliest scene of any of the Blessed Virgin's apparitions. Its legend begins about the year 50. After the Crusades had commenced, Puy-Notre-Dame became famous as a sanctuary of the Blessed ^'irgin throughout all Christendom. Its great bishop, Adhemar of Montheil, was the first to take the Cross, and he journeyed to Jerusalem with Godfrey de Bouillon as legate of the H0I3' See. The "Salve Regina" is by some attributed to him, and was certainly often known as the "Anthem of Puy". Numberless French kings, princes, and nobles have venerated this sanctuary; St. Louis IX presented it with a thorn from the Sacred Crown. The pilgrimages that we read of in connexion with this shrine must have been veritable pageants, for the crowds, even as late as 1S53, exceeded 300,000 in num- ber (Northcote, "Sanctuaries", 160-9).

Liehfield, Staffordshire, England, is one of the places of pilgrimage which has ceased to be a centre of devo- tion; for the relics of St. Chad, cast out of their tomb by Protestant fanaticism, have now found a home in a Catholic church (the Birmingham cathedral), and it is to the new shrine that the pilgrims turn (Wall, 97-102).

Liesse, Picardy, France, was before the rise of Lourdes the most famous centre in France of pilgrim- age to the Blessed Virgin. The date of its foundation is pushed back to the twelfth century and the quaint story of its origin connects it with Christian captives during the Crusades. Its catalogue of pilgrims reads like an "Almanach de Gotha"; but the numberless

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