Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

The Chapel of Graces of the Miraculous Virgin (French: La Chapelle du Grâce de Sainte Vierge Miraculeuse) or informally the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, is a Catholic chapel and Marian shrine It is located at 140 Rue du Bac in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the Marian title the '"Virgin of Miracles" It takes its name from a medal that was struck to commemorate a vision of the Virgin Mary seen by a novice nun when the building was a convent.

Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-la-Medaille-Miraculeuse
Religion
Affiliation	Catholic Church
Province	Archdiocese of Paris
Rite	Roman Rite
Location
Location	7th arrondissement of Paris
Architecture
Style	Neo-Gothic
Groundbreaking	1878 (1878)
Completed	1881 (1881)

The chapel is among the most-visited pilgrimage sites in Paris, visited by an estimated two million pilgrims each year. The shrine received an Apostolic Visit from Pope John Paul II on 31 May 1980.^[1]

History

The chapel was originally within the residence of a noble family, the Hotel de Chatillon, which was turned into a convent for the Filles de Charite, a religious order founded in 1633 by Saint Louise de Marillac and Vincent de Paul. The convent had a chapel, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which became the current chapel. ^[2]

The chapel is administered by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul.^[3] Only the 17th-century tabernacle remains unchanged since 1815. This tabernacle came from the original building allocated in 1800 to the Daughters of Charity. Once lost, it was rediscovered in the chapel of the Sisters of Mercy and was installed there before the French Revolution.

"The Miraculous Medal"

in 1830, one of the novice nuns of the convent, the 24-year old Catherine Labouré, had a series of visions while in the chapel , including three visions of the Virgin Mary, on 18 July, 27 November and in December 1830. In the vision, Mary told Labouré the story of the Immaculate Conception. and urged Labouré to have a series of medals struck, wih the invocation: "Oh Mary, conceived wihthout sin, pray for us who have recourse to you." It became known as the Miraculous Medal.

In 1832, a cholera epidemic swept Paris and the religious nuns disseminated the "miraculous" medal.^{[4] [5]}

Marian pilgrimage

The chapel, as a site of Marian apparition, is a Marian shrine and hence a site of Catholic pilgrimage.^[6] It can hold as many as 700 visitors.^[3]

Catherine Labouré declared that it was in front of the tabernacle that the Blessed Virgin Mary prostrated herself in the nights of 18 and 19 July 1830 and that she was above it during the third apparition in December 1830. In 1850, an ivory crucifix was placed on top of this tabernacle.

The wax effigy containing the bones of Louise de Marillac and the heart of Vincent de Paul, founders of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, are kept there. The incorrupt body of Catherine Labouré, member of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul and famous Marian visionary, also lies in a glass coffin at the side altar of the chapel.^[6]

• 
  Tomb with the incorrupt body of Catherine Labouré.
• 
  The tomb with relics of Saint Louise de Marillac
• 
  Tomb with the effigy of Louise de Marillac.

Architecture

• 
  The plain exterior, a former noble residence
• 
  Entrance courtyard on Rue de Bac
• 
  Sculpture of The Virgin appearing to Catherine Labourée, at entrance

Art and Decoration

• 
  The fresco over the altar, "The Queen of the Angels", by André Mériel-Bussy (1902-1984)
• 
  Side chapel honoring the "Miraculous Medal"
• 
  The Virgin of the Miraculous Medal
• 
  The altar

The most prominent art work in the chapel is found around the tabernacle, where Catherine Labouré saw her vision.

A fresco by André Mériel Bussy (1902-1984) occupies the triumphal arch in the choir. It depicts the Virgin revealing her identity and giving he message to the novice nun Catherine Labouré. The fresco filled with adoring angels, carrying white fleurs-de-lys flowers, the symbol of the Virgin, as well as musical instruments and white fleurs-de-lys flowers, the emblem of the Virgin.^[7]

Another prominent work in the chapel is "The Virgin with the Light", a statue by Jean-Louis Maldiney, showing the Virgin holidng rays of light, the emblem of the graces. She is further surrounded by twelve stars, the symbols of the twelv Apostles.

THe third notable work is "The Virgin and the Globe", a statue by Maxime Real del Sarte (1888-1950) placed at the foot of the arch. The Virgin carries a golden globe, the symbol of the universal message of vision. ^[8]

In 1849, the chapel was expanded and thereafter other modifications were executed. It underwent a major renovation in 1930, but little has changed since. ^[9]

See also

• St. Mary's of the Barrens Catholic Church (Perryville, Missouri) - National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
• Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Philadelphia