Our Lady of Good Help

Patrona de Péruwelz

La advocación de Our Lady of Good Help of Bon- Secours is developed around a Marian image located next to a fountain in the present town of Bon-Secours, part of the municipality of Péruwelz, in the province of Henao (Hainaut), Belgium, very close to the French border. According to local tradition, since the 15th century the Virgin was invoked there as protection of the walkers and pilgrimswhich came to the source in search of help and health; however, the concrete accounts of cures or prodigious facts of that time belong to the popular piety transmitted orallywithout detailed documentation to enable them to be rebuilt with chronological or historical precision. In the sources consulted there are no exact dates or an official and detailed account of the origins of this devotion in the 15th century, so many details are considered pious tradition, not critical history.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of Good Help of Bon- Secours is developed around a Marian image located next to a fountain in the present town of Bon-Secours, part of the municipality of Péruwelz, in the province of Henao (Hainaut), Belgium, very close to the French border. According to local tradition, since the 15th century the Virgin was invoked there as protection of the walkers and pilgrimswhich came to the source in search of help and health; however, the concrete accounts of cures or prodigious facts of that time belong to the popular piety transmitted orallywithout detailed documentation to enable them to be rebuilt with chronological or historical precision. In the sources consulted there are no exact dates or an official and detailed account of the origins of this devotion in the 15th century, so many details are considered pious tradition, not critical history.

From the perspective of the documented historythe existence of a Marian shrine in Bon-Secours which, over the centuries, became important as a place of pilgrimage for the faithful of Belgium and neighbouring France, especially the North-Paso de Calais region. The evolution of the sanctuary is framed in the context of other places of Marian devotion to the border, where the Virgin is invoked as an amparo in travel, in times of insecurity and in situations of disease or danger. The local tradition places the beginning of the cult around a venerated image and source, which eventually led to the construction of a church and, finally, to the present basilica; however, there are no precise data in the consulted sources on the successive stages of construction or on the exact status of the sanctuary in previous centuries (for example, as a collegiate or priory), so these aspects cannot be described with greater rigour.

What is clear is that devotion was consolidated over several centuries, hasta convert Bon-Secours into one regional reference sanctuarywith a stable presence of religious life and a welcome to pilgrims, especially entrusted to consecrated communities such as the Sisters of the Presentation of Marywho serve there today in spiritual reception. The continuity of the worship, the influx of pilgrims and the pastoral organization of the sanctuary show that the advocation of Our Lady of Good Relief of Bon- Secours has remained alive from its medieval origins to the present, although the accessible documentation does not allow to detail all the episodes of its history with precision.

The image and the sanctuary

A complete and detailed technical description of the main image venerated in the basilica of Bon-Secours (exact type of size, material, dimensions, author or art school). No verifiable data are available on whether it is a polychrome wood, stone or other material size, or on its precise dating, so these details cannot be strictly stated. There is also no detailed iconography in the accessible sources (for example, if the Virgin appears standing with the Child, sitting on the throne, with specific attributes such as scepter or rosary). Since tradition links the origin of the cult to a image next to a source and to the protection of the walkers, it is reasonable to think that it presents features of Our Lady of Help or Help, but this is a general marine reasoning and no consta documented how exactly it is represented in the size of Bon-Secours.

The temple where this image is venerated is the basilica of Bon-Secourslocated in Bon-Secours (Péruwelz), on the Belgian-French border. In various sources it is designated as "Sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Help", recognized as a place of pilgrimage and spiritual welcome to the faithful, with a stable presence of religious dedicated to the animation of the sanctuary. No detailed architectural description (style, exact date of construction of the current building, authors, extensions or restorations) has been found in the sources consulted, nor has the official text of its elevation been found. minor basilica (although it is usually called "Bon-Secours Basilica," which indicates that it enjoys that title). In any case, it is a recognized Marian sanctuarywhich is an important part of the ecclesial life of the corresponding diocese and which is configured as place of pilgrimagewith chapels, liturgical spaces and dependencies for reception, under the pastoral responsibility of the local Church and with the support of religious communities.

In comparison with other churches of the same apvocation in Belgium (for example, the Baroque church of Notre-Dame de Bon Secours in Brussels, which is a different and urban temple, with its own history and a miraculous image discovered in 1625), the shrine of Bon-Secours in Péruwelz is characterized precisely by its character of border and pilgrimage sanctuary, linked to the tradition of the source and the road, and should not be confused with those other homonymous places.

Sponsorship and coronation

In local tradition, Our Lady of Good Help of Bon- Secours It is invoked in particular as protection of walkers, pilgrims and travellersgiven the origin of devotion next to a source in a place of passage and its location on the border between Belgium and France. This dimension of amparo on the way is reflected in the continuity of pilgrimages from both sides of the border and in the reception that the sanctuary offers to those who are placed under the protection of the Virgin. The sources consulted do not explicitly mention a formal decree of proclamation as the principal patron of the city of Péruwelz, the diocese or an entire region; therefore, from a strictly legal and liturgical point of view, no consta a specific canonical patronage title beyond its recognition as a Marian advocation of the sanctuary and the area.

On the canonical coronationthe information available on this advocation indicates that the image was crowned in 1910as mentioned in the tradition of the sanctuary and in various devotional references (including the one presented in the statement of this document). However, the official coronation decree neither the express mention of the Pope who authorized it or the Pontifical Delegate who performed the rite, nor the text of the relevant liturgical act. Since canonical coronation requires a formal process with a decree of the Holy See, and in the absence of that document in accessible sources, it is only possible to affirm the year 1910 as a traditionally accepted data, while, following the information received, it should be indicated that no con seguridad in the sources consulted the details of the Pontiff or of the delegate who performed the coronation.

For the purposes of this document and in accordance with the requested rule, it should therefore be indicated:

– Coronación canónica: year 1910 (according to the tradition of the sanctuary), but no consta in the documents consulted the decree or the name of the Pontiff or of the delegate who concluded it.

Party and devotion

La main party of Our Lady of Good Help of Bon- Secours is celebrated the September 8in line with the Marian tradition that celebrates the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. On that day, in the sanctuary, solemn celebrations are organized, framed in a calendar of Marian pilgrimages that extend throughout the year. The match of the feast with the Nativity of Mary underlines the dimension of start y de new help which the Virgin offers to the people of God, especially to those who put themselves under her protection in the way and in the trials of life.

The shrine of Bon-Secours welcomes pilgrimages de fi