Our Lady of Life

https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/our-lady-of-life.html

Our Lady of Life
(Notre Dame de Vie)


January 27
 
The town of Mougins is really an ancient village located in south of France.
Only a short drive from Cannes, it is completely surrounded by dense forests, & there are a variety of tall pines & other trees growing amidst town’s buildings.

Like so many other places in Europe, village was once also surrounded by a stone wall set with strong towers, though most of those walls have long since fallen down.
Many of charming older residences, however, are still in use opposite to newer dwellings.

It was sometime during 11th century when a local nobleman gave hill which overlooks village to monks to Saint Honorat, who cared for local populace until time of French Revolution.
The monks built a chapel on hill known as Saint Marie, though very little of that original structure still remains.

The Chapel of Our Lady of Life, or Notre Dame de Vie in French, was built in 1646, & stands upon former site of that much earlier church.

If one were to visit hermitage of Notre Dame de Vie, Our Lady of Life, they'd find it situated on a beautiful site still overlooking village, set in a long meadow bordered by 2 rows of giant cypresses.
There is a natural peace & quietude that seems to invade the soul at this place, which was once a site of many miracles.

The name of first chapel was changed from Saint Mary to Notre Dame de Vie, Our Lady of Life, when it was discovered that one could find a heavenly respite there.
Notre Dame de Vie soon became famous throughout area as a special sanctuary of grace, for if still-born babies were brought there, they'd be miraculously brought back to life long enough to be baptized during Mass.

"At present day, chapel has fallen to ruin, & a stone cross broken in half rises alone amid ruins; but underneath these ruins there are subterraneous valuts, & a stone altar yet tells where they still come to lay those little children whom death has smitten on  threshold of life, & who've been unable to receive sacred sign which would've made them like unto the angels."

"No sooner are they laid upon this stone, says mountaineer who serves as a guide to traveler in this dark crypt, than their eyes open again, a slight breathing escapes from their little lips closed by death, the water of baptism flows upon their foreheads, & then they fall asleep again, to ascend to heaven."

"By digging a little into ground, remains of these poor little flowers of humanity, which withered at icy breath of death in first hour of their morning, are found round about altar dedicated to Blessed Virgin, who raises up little children to life, that they may go to Jesus Christ; that ignorant, but exalted tenderness of feeling which came to beg the miracle of Mary, interred them beneath her wing, that she might not forget them!"

"Let incredulity be indignant at this superstition of the heart; tender & pious souls will find in it only a motive for gentle commiseration.
No doubt, more than one mother has been deceived in thinking that she saw cold lips of her child become reanimated with her kisses to receive sacred water; but whoever should dare to advance that Mary can't perform miracles as great when she pleases, would be, to say the truth, a bold mortal." (*from Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with History of Devotion to Her, by Mathieu Orsini, translated from French.)

The chapel is home to an ancient statue in polychrome wood of Virgin & Child.
It is piously believed that through this image the Blessed Virgin has often restored to life children who'd died without baptism.

In 1730 practice was prohibited for unknown reasons.
There is a tomb in an adjacent enclosure that contains remains of tiny bodies of those who were baptized & have passed to paradise.