OUR LADY OF LIGNY (FRANCE)

 Our Mother of Virtues is very famous for the frequent miracles. The portrait of the Blessed Virgin has been at Ligny since 1459 and is of a silk painting unlike any other portrait 

    of the Blessed Virgin. It was originally known to be in the possession of Pope Urban IV, but after many wanderings, the pious image was given to the canons of the collegiate 

    Church of Ligny in the year 1459. When Ligny was besieged, stormed and destroyed the Holy Image of Our Mother of Ligny was stolen by an Imperial trooper, but it was retrieved by a 

    laborer and returned in grand procession in 1581. This procession was led by the Countess Margaret of Savoy, 

    who built a new monastery for the Capuchins over the ruins of the previous site. She also began the devotion to the portrait known as Our Mother of Virtues. 

    This protection seemed to continue through World War I, Our Mother of Virtues protected the city through four separate bombings that caused no deaths.





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