Anecdotes about the Virgin Mary

"The Good Mother of Marseille: the forest of sailors' votive offerings"

Marseille (France) (1214-1864)

On the hill that dominates the Old Port of Marseilles, about a hundred and fifty meters above the Mediterranean, the basilica of No. Give me the Garde.which the Marshals call tenderly «la Bonne Mère», la Buena Madre. From above, her great golden statue of the Virgin with the Child is seen from almost any corner of the city, as a mother who does not lose sight of her children, especially those who are made to the sea.

The documented story starts in 1214when a priest named Pierre had a small Marian chapel built on the top. For its position on the port, the Virgin venerated there was held from ancient times by Seafarer and fishermen and protector of the whole city. The chapel met with destruction and reconstructions throughout the centuries, until in the 19th century the architect Henri- Jacques Espérandieu raised the present basilica of Romano-Byzantine style, consecrated on June 5, 1864.

That "forest of votive offerings" is the most moving feature of the sanctuary. Alongside the small boats of grateful sailors hang plaques commemorating accidents overcome, illnesses conquered, and even modern curiosities: the remains of a fire truck that survived a blaze or expressions of gratitude from the city's football club. All of this illustrates how devotion to the Bonne Mère has become interwoven with the daily life of all of Marseille.

We have to distinguish with love. It's documented the Marian chapel of 1214, the function of the sanctuary as the protection of the people of the sea, the Basilica of Espérandieu consecrated in 1864 and the enormous tradition of exvotes. It's Pious LegendOn the other hand, the apparition of the Virgin in 1219 to two fishermen caught in a storm, which some accounts give as the origin of the first chapel: no consta in the sober historical sources. And with regard to Rosary, no consta a particular historical link beyond the common Marian devotion of such a living sanctuary.