The shrine of Notre Dame de Sous-Terre is built on what was probably the oldest dedicated shrine to Our Blessed Lady anywhere in the world. In fact the shrine is even ‘pre-Christian’, being as it is the site of an original subterranean pagan temple from before the birth of Christ.
Before the birth of our Saviour, circa 5 B.C., the image of Our Lady of Chartres (and, according to some sources, perhaps even earlier, at around 100 B.C.), a statue of Mary seated on a throne and holding a child on her knees, was
carved in a forest in the midst of the plains of La Beauce, by order of Priscus,
king of the people of Chartres, the Carnuti tribe. Julius Cesar’s account “On the War of the Gauls” (De Bello Gallico) mentions that once a year all the Druids of Gaul (modern day France) would gather there, to decide disputes and hold religious celebrations. The Druids are said to have worshipped in a cave in this location, and it is said that the sculpture on the altar of their shrine was the one dedicated to the "Matri Futurae Dei Nascituri." This old tradition is supported by the discovery of druidic artefacts and religious emblems during restoration after the ravages of the Second World War.
According to the old story, the Druids heard of Isaiah’s prophecy: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son” (Is. 7:14). They instinctively knew that this would be the one true God who would prove their old gods to be mere idols, and so they ordered a statue of this unknown virgin and child to be sculpted and placed on the altar.
This image was set up afterwards with the inscription
“Virgini pariturae” — that is “The Virgin who is to bring forth” — in the same
place where it is seen at the present day. There are still some surviving old references this “small black immemorial image”, which was apparently pre-Christian in both appearance and origin. The ancient statue of the Virgin Mary was famously described by the celebrated art historian Pintard in 1681:
“The Virgin sits on a chair, her Son sits on her knees and He gives the sign of blessing with His right hand. In His left hand He holds an orb. He is bare-headed and His hair is quite short. He wears a close-fitting robe girdled with a belt. His face, hands and feet are bare and they are of a shining grey-ebony colour. The Virgin is dressed in an antique mantle in the shape of a chasuble. Her face is oval, of perfect construction, and of the same shining black colour. Her crown is very plain, only the top being decorated with flowers and small leaves. Her chair is one foot wide with four parts hallowed out at the back and carved. The statue is twenty-nine inches tall.”
Today's Our Lady of the Under Ground, or Notre Dame Sous Terre, statue is a replica of the
old Madonna, the original one having been destroyed during the chaos following the French Revolution.
St Potentianus, second Bishop of Sens, whom the
Apostle St Peter had sent into France, stopped at Chartres where he blessed this
image, and dedicated the cavern as a church in the Year of Our Lord 46 AD (Sebastian Rouillard, Parthen; c. iv. n. 1). The first Christian church on the site was made of wood.
With its special Black Madonna, Chartres became one of the most important cathedrals of the Middle Ages, as a locus of
eastern and western Christian unity.
While an earlier church was replaced in 1020 by Gothic edifice; the original crypt and underground grotto were preserved.
The enthusiasm of which Notre-Dame of Chartres became the object is attested by the "Poème des Miracles" (1210), published by Antoine Thomas, and by Jean le Marchand's poem of 1262. The consecration of the cathedral occurred in 1260, and St. Louis attended the ceremony. The stained glass windows date back to the thirteenth century, and are the finest in the world, containing 3889 figures. The upper windows were presented by St. Louis, and St. Ferdinand and Queen Blanche of Castile. The porches and windows represent in magnificent symbolism the glorification of Mary.
In 1322, Pope John XXII declared that Chartres was the oldest church in all of
France: “Accepted that the Benevolent Virgin, mother of God, had chosen for her
venerable temple, when she lived among men, the church of Chartres.”
Among the pilgrims who came to Chartres history mentions St. Louis who, in order to reach there, travelled seven leagues on foot; Philip the Fair; Charles the Fair; Philip of Valois; John the Good who went there three times and left his pilgrim's staff, which has become the bâton cantoral of the Chapter; Charles V who went thither twice barefooted; Louis XI; Henry III who made eighteen pilgrimages; Henry IV who was crowned there on 27 February, 1594; Louis XIV and Popes Pascal II, Innocent II, and Alexander III. There are also records of pilgrimages by several English monarchs: Matilda, Richard I and Edward III. More recent pligrims have included Napoléon III, Charles de Gaulle, Péguy and Huysmans. The object of this pilgrimage is threefold -to venerate:
- the statue of Notre-Dame-sous-Terre, inaugurated in 1857, and modelled after the old statue burned in 1793, being therefore a reproduction of the figure honoured by the Druids. Devotions are held in the Carolingian crypt which is the largest in France, and the site of the MSM's canonical erection;
- the "Vierge Noire de Notre-Dame-du Pilier" (Black Virgin) in the upper church, which the MSM are honored to carry in its procession through the streets of Chartres every August 15th during the Feast of the Assumption; and
- the "Voile de la Vierge" (Veil of the Blessed Virgin) or "Sancta Camisa", given to Charlemagne by Constantine Porphyrogenitus and Irene, transferred about 876 by Charles the Bald from Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) to Chartres, and raised as a standard in 911 by Gantelme, the bishop, to put to flight the Norman Rollo. In 1360 Edward III of England, and in 1591 Henry Henry IV of France, passed reverently beneath the reliquary containing this veil, which the MSM are proud to be the honor guard of every August 15th during the Feast of the Assumption.
With its special devotions,
Chartres became known the Virgin’s throne upon Earth, an earthly palace for the Queen
of Heaven.
To the right of the church ruins on the bank next to the ancient crenelated wall of St-Wandrille Monastery, still equipped with its staircase turrets, stands a chapel dedicated to Our Lady, as a result of a vow made by Abbot Dom Gabriel Gontard on August 15, 1944, after the bombing of the monastery by the Germans during WWII. The monks of the Abbey erected it with their own hands from 1952 to 1968.
Although now intramural, this chapel was rebuilt at the site of the original position of the St-Wandrille Church, at the sources of Fontenelle River, where Saint Wandrille (the Monastery's Founder and Namesake) had built it in the seventh century.
The nave is a very simple, covered structure. There, near a beautiful Madonna and Child statue, lies Dom Gabriel Gontard (RIP 1986), who approved the first MSM Rule in 1945 and dubbed Dom Gerard-Marie Lafond, the MSM's Founder, in 1947. The vaulted shrine is lit by stained-glass windows depicting Our Lady of the Angels, by Decorchemont, of St. Wandrille healing an aggressor at the sources of the Fontenelle, and of Dom Gontard and his monks dedicating the votive chapel to the Virgin.
The origin of the medal of St. Benedict is very ancient. It was certainly suggested by the efficacious use that the patriarch made of
the sign of the cross against the assaults of the Demon narrated by St.
Gregorio.
The Medal is a sacaramental containing symbols and text related to the life of St-Benedict of Nursia. It is one of the oldest and most honored medals used by Catholics and due to the belief in its power against evil is also known as the "devil-chasing medal". As early as the 11th century, it may have initially had the form of Saint Benedict's cross, and was used by pope Leo IX. The reverse side of the medal carries the "Vade Retro Santana" ("Step back, Satan") formula which has been used by Catholics to ward off evil since the 15th century.
Benedict XIV formalized the design of this medal in the 18th century. On one side it carries the
image of St. Benedict holding a cross in his hand; on the other side there is a
larger cross with Latin initials. Due to the fact that the cross represented
here is an essential element of this medal, it is called the Medal - Crucifix
of St. Benedict.
On the back there is the effigy of the Saint, holding the cross in his right
hand and the Rules in his left hand; on his right there is a cup from which a
serpent is escaping (a recollection of the poisoned wine which he miraculously
escaped); on the left we have a crow taking away the poisoned bread.
Underneath we can read the words: “EX S.M. CASINO
MDCCCLXXXX” (From the Holy Mount Cassino 1880). On the two sides “CRUX SANCTI PATRIS BENEDICTI” (Cross of Holy Father Benedict).
Around the image: “EIUS IN OBITU NOSTRO PRAESENTIA MUNIAMUR”
(May we be strengthened by his prescence in the hour of our death!).
On the front of the Medal, a Cross is represented which carries several
inscription in the arms, the explanations of which follow:
C.S.P.B.: CRUX SANCTI PATRIS BENEDICTI The cross of our Holy
Father Benedict
C.S.S.M.L.: CRUX SACRA SIT MIHI LUX May
the Holy Cross be my light!
N.D.S.M.D.: NUNQUAM DRACO
SIT MIHI DUX! May the dragon never be my guide
V.R.S.:
VADE RETRO SATANA Begone Satan!
N.S.M.V.: NUNQUAM
SUADE MIHI VANA! - Never tempt me with your vanities!
S.M.Q.L.: SUNT MALA QUAE LIBAS What you offer me is evil.
I.V.B.: IPSE VENEA BIBAS Drink the poison yourself!
“PAX” is written under the Cross: the motto of the Congregation
of Cassino and of the entire Benedictine Order.
The three internal eulogistic rhyming couplets are part of a very ancient
series dating back at least to the XIV century which is accompanied by the
figure of a monk with the cross driving away temptation.
They express well the confidence which the faithful had in the defence of St.
Benedict against the spiritual and material dangers the devil could procure.
Some scholars have affirmed that with the exception of the one of the Most
Holy Virgin, there is no other more widely diffuse Medal than that of St.
Benedict. The numerous indulgences which the Holy See has enriched it with,
witness its singular prize and together contribute to making it the most dear
and precious one to the Christian people.
An unconditional indulgence is accorded at the time of death to all
those who wear, kiss or hold the Medal between the hands with veneration, on the
following conditions: 1) they commend their souls to God 2) they confess or
receive Holy Communion or if this in not possible invoke the Holy Name of Jesus
with feelings of contrition, (or with the heart if one cannot speak).
A partial indulgence is accorded to all those who wear, kiss or hold
the Medal between the hands with veneration.
Other indulgences have been conceded in the past to the Medal of St.
Benedict.
The Medal of St. Benedict is used for all spiritual and temporal needs
on condition that it is used with a faithful spirit.This medal is efficacious
against epidemics, certain special illnesses and against the spells and
temptations of the devil.
It has been widely diffused throughout the entire world by missionaries. This
medal also obtains the conversions of sinners, above all on the point of death.
The medal helps women in labour and gives God’s protection against the dangers
which threaten our lives: it permits a good and Holy death.
The medal of St. Benedict is very ancient. Its popularity was born in the XI
century following the miraculous healing of a youth, a certain Bruno, who then
became a Benedictine monk and later Pope S. Leone IX.
Benedict is always invoked as the patron of the Good Death. One day he
appeared to St. Gertrude, saying: all those who remember me with the dignity
which the Lord has honoured and blessed me with, allowing me to have a glorious
death, I will faithfully assist at the point of death and will oppose all of the
attacks of the enemy in that decisive hour.
The soul will be protected by my presence and will remain tranquil, in spite
of all of the attacks of the enemy, and happy will depart towards eternal joy.
Note: The medal-crucifix of St. Benedict must be BLESSED
by a priest or by a deacon.
