Our Lady Virga Jesse

Marian Advocation of Hasselt (Limburg)

Documented history

Main data

Origin and history

Documented history

The devotion dates back to at least the 14th century, when the Brotherhood of Our Lady built the call in 1334 Clerkenkapel (Chapel of the Clergymen) to venerate an image of the Virgin Mary in Hasselt. This chapel is the origin of the present Virgin Jesse shrine. The church that today is known as Basílica Virga Jesse It dates from the 18th century, built on or in continuity with that place of medieval veneration.

The little Gothic statue of the Virgin, known as Virga Jesse, is a size of oak from the 14th century, and since 1682 it is carried in septenal procession the streets of Hasselt, giving rise to the Mr Virga Jessefeesten Or Virgin Jesse parties. The temple that keeps the image was raised by John Paul II to the dignity of minor basilica on 6 May 1998, in recognition of the historical and pastoral importance of this place of pilgrimage.

Spiritual Tradition and Reading

The title "Blood Jesse" He refers to Isaiah's prophecy: "A rod will come out of the trunk of Jesus." (Is 11.1), applied by Christian tradition to the Virgin Mary as “vara de Jesé”from whose offspring the Messiah is born. Various divulgative and catechetical materials present the image of Hasselt as a visual expression of this symbolism of Arbol the Court of Jesah. This dimension is more interpretative and theological than strictly documentary, and is based on the medieval iconography that relates the genealogy of Christ to the figure of Mary as a flower born of the trunk of Jesus.

The image and the sanctuary

The image

La efigie de Our Lady Virga Jesse es una small Gothic statue of 14th century oak wood, classified as a Gothic-style Marian size. It is an image of the Virgin with the Child (typical of the Sedent Virgin or standing in accordance with the Flemish Gothic tradition), although the accessible sources describe it generally as "Gothic oak size" without exhaustively detailing all the iconographic attributes. It is the central piece of the Marian devotion of Hasselt and is solemnly taken out in procession every seven years.

The sanctuary / temple

The image is venerated in the Basílica Virga Jesse (Virga Jessebasiliek), located in the Kapelstraat, in the centre of Hasselt, within walking distance of the Cathedral of San Quentin. The temple rises in the place of the ancient Clerkenkapel founded in 1334 and was rebuilt as a church in the 18th century.

The Basin has a relatively sober interior, with central ship and side chapels, described by the visitors as simple, bright and harmonious. It's a important church of pilgrimage in the region, center of processions and celebrations linked to the Virgin Jesse and the popular religiosity of Hasselt. In 1998 it was officially recognized as minor basilica by la Santa Sede.

Sponsorship and coronation

Patronage

Our Lady Virga Jesse is recognized as patron of the city of Hasselt, and the basilica is a Marian relief centre for the diocese of Hasselt and the province of Limburg. The sources consulted highlight their role as a spiritual reference for the inhabitants of the city and as a focus of regional pilgrimages, although a title of diocesan formal patronage is not explicit beyond its strong local roots.

Canonical coronation

Precise historical testimony of its coronation is preserved: the August 15, 1867The pope. Pío IX granted and authorized the coronation of the statue of the Virgin Jessewhich was carried out in his name by François-Xavier de Mérode. This coronation is part of the deciononic movement of canonical coronations of Marian images that are unique in Europe, and gives the advocation an official recognition by the universal Church.

Party and devotion

La main party linked to the Virgin Virgin Jesse is celebrated in Auguston the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin (August 15), the date on which the 1867 coronation took place. The devotion is expressed in a particularly intense way in the The seventh party of the Virgin Jesse (Mr Virga Jessefeesten), major celebrations that take place every seven yearswith a solemn procession in which the image runs through the streets of Hasselt accompanied by faithful, cofradies, bands and catechetical representations.

These sevens are documented from 1682, year from which the statue is regularly taken out in procession every seven years. The celebration has become an important religious and cultural event for the city and for the Mosa-Rhine euroregion, integrating elements of popular tradition, sacred art, music and mass participation of the faithful. The sources describe the basilica as a pilgrimage center, with significant influx of visitors especially in the years of the septual holiday. However, there are no precise and verifiable figures for assistance, and no consta a documented numeric date.

Link to the Rosary

Sources consulted on the Virga Jesse and his sanctuary are focused on the history of the image, the septenal procession and the local dimension of devotion, but no consta a specific and documented link of this advocation with practices of the Rosary's own co-fradies or with a Rosary's feast as such.

However, as Marian advocation deeply rooted in popular piety, the Virgin Virgin Jesse naturally integrates into the spirituality of the Rosarywho contemplates the mysteries of Christ's life with Mary. The biblical title of “vara de Jesé” remite a la mysterious preparation of the Incarnation, especially in the joyful mysteries (Annunciation and Incarnation of the Son of God). The prayer of the Rosary thus allows us to accompany the Virgin of Virgin Jesse in the prayer reading of the history of salvation: from the Messianic promise (Jesus) to the birth, Passion and glorification of Christ in the glory of the Assumption and the Coronation of Mary.

In this sense, even if there is no rosarian structure of the advocation, the Rosary is a privileged way to honor Our Lady Virgin Jesse, uniting the contemplation of the mysteries of Christ with the filial veneration to this ancient and crowned Marian image of Hasselt.