Our Lady of Guard

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

March 4: Our Lady of Guard

(Notre Dame de la Garde)
 
Late one afternoon during 13th century, a solitary French fisherman was fishing off harbor of Marseille. Before he became aware of it, a terrific storm burst upon him.
His boat tossed around like a shell, & filled with water faster than he could bail it out.
His rudder was lost; his mast snapped.

Cutting himself free from rigging with a knife, he had saved himself temporarily from certain drowning. Still, everything looked hopeless, & he felt he could never get back to harbor.
The fisherman thought of family he'd never see again & cast a despairing look at city, huge rock standing like a sentinel or guard on  mountain which overtopped city & harbor.

Dimly through gloom he suddenly saw a solitary figure of a lady, dressed in white, standing firmly on very top of rock.
She seemed to be extending her hand as if she'd help him to shelter & safety of harbor.
At once it came to him that the Lady so calmly defying wind & rain could only be Blessed Mother, so he prayed to her to help him.

Almost immediately his boat ceased its wild tossing, righted itself & pushed by a friendly gust of wind, raced into calm water of harbor until it drove onto shore at very foot of mountain.
Stepping onto shore shore, fisherman fell to his knees & poured out his thanks to Blessed Virgin, & then hurried home to his worried family.

The story of his rescue through assistance of Our Lady quickly spread throughout port.
It was remembered that other sailors, on numerous occasions during severe storms, had also seen figure of Lady on top of rock.
Always when she had appeared, the angry seas had calmed & their crafts had ridden safely into shelter.

Soon everyone came to believe that rock was spot on which Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Guard, would appear whenever her help was desperately required.
In thanksgiving to her sailors of Marseille, in 1213-1218, erected a chapel on top of rock.
In it they enshrined a lovely statue of Our Lady.

Around 1544, chapel was replaced by a large church & statue transferred to it.
Sometime during French Revolution statue of Our Lady of Guard was destroyed, but during 1830’s a new statue was dedicated.

That Mary did confine her help only to sailors was proved in year 1832 when a severe epidemic of cholera struck Marsilles; people decided to appeal to Mary.
Forming a procession, they climbed mountain, removed the statue from chapel, brought it down, & solemnly carried it through streets of city.
Almost immediately epidemic waned, & in a few days vanished.
So they called Mary, Our Lady of Help – sailors called her Our Lady of Mariners.

Some years later, as fame of shrine on top of mountain spread, with more & more people coming up to pay their respects.
The shrine acquired still another name, a name more reflective of who Our Lady truly is for all who call upon her – Notre Dame de la Guarde – Our Lady of Guard, or Guardian.

In Marseilles today, hill of Notre Dame de la Garde is topped by a beautiful basilica, at an altitude of 550 feet, which was built in 1864.
This commanding site, however, has been occupied by a chapel since year 1214.

The interior has a multitude of sailors’ votive offerings, & model ships are hung in all parts of it in sign of thanksgiving for all the mariners who've been assisted by their heavenly mother.
A golden statue of Virgin & Child suitably dominates city from its place on top of western tower.
*from The Woman in Orbit