Our Lady of the Thorn

Two hundred years later, during one of the most deplorable periods of our history, when the English and the Burgundians were tearing France apart, on the site of this modest oratory, a vast church rose from its foundations as if by enchantment. When one contemplates the architecture of this monument, when one admires the riches that unfold on the flanks of its naves, that group together on its portals, that shelter under its arches, or spring forth on its pillars, the mind naturally turns toward the causes that could have brought about this foundation in times when Champagne, like the rest of France, was prey to the horrors of war. If we consult the chronicles and traditions, this is what they teach us.

In the year 1400, on March 24, the eve of the Feast of the Annunciation, a shepherd from the farm of Sainte-Marie and another from Courtisol, in the canton of Les Apeuls, near Châlons-sur-Marne, finding themselves in the evening in the vicinity of the chapel of Saint John the Baptist tending their flocks, suddenly perceived at some distance and in the middle of a large thorn bush a brilliant light. At this sight, the sheep and the ewes fled in terror toward the plain; only the lambs dared to approach the bush. Curious to know what could be the cause of this extraordinary light, the two shepherds came toward it, but they were so dazzled by its brilliance that they fell into a faint and remained for some time unconscious. Having finally recovered from this weakness caused by fear, they discovered in the middle of the bush a small statue of the Blessed Virgin holding her Son in her arms.

The light increasing as ni ght approached, people ran to it from all the places where it could be seen, particularly from the villages of Courtisol, Melette, and La Croisette, and, by an astonishing prodigy, it lasted all night as well as the following day. As the place is very high and overlooks a vast plain on all sides, it was seen from more than ten leagues around, the chronicles say.

The brightness having dissipated and the news of this event having soon spread, the Bishop of Châlons, at the head of his chapter, the parish priests of the surrounding villages along with that of Melette, and a considerable crowd went in procession to the site to venerate the image of the Virgin; and although it was still only the month of March, all remarked with astonishment that the bush, which at first had appeared all in flames, was covered with foliage and as beautiful a greenery as it could have been in the middle of summer. Having removed the statue, the bishop transported it with respect to the chapel of Saint John the Baptist.

Placed later in the church of L'Épine, this statu e of the Blessed Virgin, a bout fifty centimeters high, made of a slightly yellow stone with a very fine grain, moderately sculpted and painted in all its parts, has always been and still is in great veneration there, not only among the inhabitants of the region, but also among the foreigners it attracts in great numbers; this is what has made this church a very frequented place of pilgrimage, especially in the month of May, and at the time of the four great feasts of the Annunciation, the Assumption, the Nativity, and the Immaculate Conception.

At the time of the French Revolu tion, entruste d by Mr. Bertin, parish priest of L'Épine, to a local inhabitant whose loyalty and discretion he knew, this statue remained hidden during the Terror, until, with brighter days having begun to shine upon France, the same Mr. Bertin believed he could take charge of keeping it himself.

The bush where the statue was discovered no longer exists. It disappeared when the ground was prepared and the foundations of the Church were laid.

The place it occupied at the time of the event is unknown; it is probable that it must have been located where the high altar is erected, the most important object of a Christian Church.

There exists at L'Épine a confraternity of the Blesse d Virgin which, in 1839, counted twelve hundred members.

The church of Notre-Dame de l'Épine has this particularity among all the places of pilgrimage dedicated to Mary, that its two main feasts, the Assumption and the Nativity, are almost exclusively reserved for young children there. Since its foundation, every year, at the time of these two great solemnities, a very large number of them are brought from all parts to the altar of Mary; some led solely by the piety of their parents, others because they have been placed for a certain time under the protection of the Blessed Virgin.

Excerpt from a notice on Notre-Dame de l'Épine, by the parish priest of the place.