Apparition of Our Lady of La Treille in northern France: prophecy and healings

Around 640, Ermengarde and her husband, Salvaert, a prince of Dijon, travelled together to England. During their journey, they were attacked by brigands in the Sans-Merci woods. Salvaert was killed and his pregnant wife taken prisoner. She managed to escape and hide near the "Fontaine du Saulx", where the Virgin Mary appeared to her, reassured her and prophesied a bright future for her unborn child. The Catholic Church has honoured Our Lady of La Treille ever since. Over the course of centuries, several written records of miracles have survived, describing various types of illnesses and their miraculous cures (blindness, plague, paralysis, etc.). Each case was authenticated by the canons in charge of the shrine.

Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille cathedral, Lille / © Shutterstock, Aliaksandr Antanovich.

Les raisons d'y croire :

The prophecy given by the apparition came true: Lyderic, son of Ermangarde, became Forester of Flanders by order of King Clotaire II, and founded the town of Lille.

The Count of Flanders, Baudouin V (1012 - 1067), witnessed at first hand the miraculous cure of his father, Baudouin IV, through the intercession of Our Lady of La Treille, for whom he had a great devotion. He ordered her statue to be installed in the church he had built from August 1066, the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre, the largest religious edifice in Lille until the French Revolution.

From the 12th century onwards, the shrine of Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille became a place of pilgrimage for the whole of France and even Europe, as witnessed by the countless ex-voto offerings and other types of offerings made by the beneficiaries of miraculous cures there.

In the 13th century, the miracles continued, most notably on 14 June 1254, when 53 cripples were suddenly healed at the same instant while praying before the statue of the Virgin (Henri Delassus, Origine de l'archiconfrérie de Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille, patronne de Lille, Paris, Desclée de Brouwer, 1891). After a rigorous investigation, the Bishop of Tournai recognised these miracles.

In 1269, Countess Marguerite of Flanders instituted an annual procession in honour of Our Lady of La Treille. The following year, festivities were organised with the support of the civil authorities of Lille and all the clergy to celebrate the miracles obtained through the Virgin's intercession. These various events support the reality of the reported miracles.

Between 1519 and 1527, twenty-nine people possessed by the devil were liberated by the Virgin of Lille. Numerous cases of blindness, hernia, paralysis of the limbs and plague were reported during this period. One example is Marie de Lescurie, a parishioner of Saint-Étienne in Lille, who was possessed. Her liberation was authenticated after an investigation in which the provosts, deans and treasurers of the collegiate church of Lille, the archdeacon of Tournai, several parish priests from Lille, a doctor and the parents of the possessed took part. This liberation was publicly recognised by the Church on 28 April 1639.

In 1634, after further spectacular miracles, Jean Le Vasseur, mayor of Lille, consecrated the city to Our Lady of La Treille. Lille became "Insula Civitas Virginis "("Lille, City of the Virgin"). The municipal authorities placed the keys to the city on the altar during the Offertory of the consecration mass on 28 October 1634.

That same year, the Emperor of Austria, Ferdinand II, became a member of the Confraternity of Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille. Shortly afterwards, he won a major battle against the Swedes at Nördlingen, which he attributed to Mary's intercession.

The miracles of Our Lady of La Treille have been known, catalogued, recorded and criticised since at least modern times. Abbot Walerand Crudenaire, canon of the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre, compiled all the existing testimonies from the Middle Ages onwards, and in 1617 the Bishop of Tournai, Mgr Jacob Maximilien Villain de Gand, recognised the many miracles.

Countless prominent people have made pilgrimages to Lille: the Emperor Charles V and his son Philip II, King of Spain, Duke Philip the Good (the latter placed the Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece under the patronage of Our Lady of La Treille when it was created), Louis XIV in 1667 (the Sun King swore an oath in front of the statue to preserve the freedoms of the people of Lille), and so on. Since the end of the Middle Ages, Our Lady of La Treille has had a "holy escort" in the persons of four great Catholic saints, all pilgrims to the site, namely Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153), Saint Thomas Beckett (d. 1170), Saint Louis, King of France (a pilgrim in 1255), and Saint Vincent Ferrer (d. 1419).

In 1874, Pope Pius IX had the statue of Our Lady of La Treille crowned, giving the shrine official recognition.

The six stalls surrounding the cathedral choir depict the miracles of Our Lady of La Treille, and the central stained glass window of the "Holy Chapel", where her statue is kept, evokes Mary under this title. The importance of the shrine is also reflected in the beauty of the cathedral's decoration.

Despite the ravages of the French Revolution (the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre was totally destroyed), the veneration of Our Lady of La Treille has never ceased for nearly fourteen centuries.

Synthèse :

Around 640, Ermengarde (or Hermengarde), wife of Salvaert, Prince of Dijon (France, Côte-d'Or), travelled unescorted to England with her husband. When they reached the Sans-Merci Wood, not far from Buc Castle, where Lille Cathedral now stands and is dedicated to Our Lady of La Treille, the couple were attacked by brigands in the pay of a local lord named Phinaert. Salvaert was killed and Ermangarde, although pregnant, was mercilessly taken prisoner. The young woman managed to escape shortly afterwards. After a frantic run, she reached a clearing, where she discovered a fountain shaded by willows ("Fontaine del Saulx") and sat down. Suddenly, the Virgin Mary appeared to her. Dressed like a queen, she was carrying the Child Jesus in her arms. Her gaze was very gentle. After a moment, she said: "Don't lose heart, soon you will be the mother of a son who will save the country and set you free". Ermangarde wanted to thank her for being there, but she was so overcome with emotion that she couldn't talk. The apparition looked at her one last time and then disappeared.

The Virgin's prophecy was fully realised, as Lyderic challenged his father's murderer to a duel and became "forester" of Flanders on the orders of King Clotaire II, before going on to found the city of Lille. Ermangarde's story was accepted by the clergy of the time. Such a woman could not lie, and the tragic death of her husband proved the reality of the attack to which she had fallen victim. Her survival and that of her unborn child showed that she had been mysteriously protected. Little by little, the Fontaine del Saulx became a place of pilgrimage, first locally and then regionally. Many healings and conversions were reported. After the year 1000, the first votive chapel was built there.

In the first third of the 11th century, the Count of Flanders, Baudouin IV (d. 1035), was miraculously cured through the intercession of Our Lady of La Treille. His son, Baudouin V, himself a fervent devotee of Mary, witnessed the miracle. He had a statue of Our Lady of La Treille installed inside the largest religious monument in Lille until the French Revolution, the collegiate church of Saint Peter, which was opened on his orders in August 1066. From then on, pilgrims from all over the region, and far beyond, flocked to the site. The clergy gradually organised the pilgrimage.

On 2 June 1254, an exceptional event occurred: several dozen sick people suddenly recovered their health while praying at the foot of the Marian statue. After a rigorous investigation, the Bishop of Tournai recognised the miracle for fifty-three of them. The canons decided to protect the miraculous statue with a wrought-iron grille, which would over time become the support for pilgrims' offerings. In 1264, Pope Alexander IV, informed of these miracles, founded a brotherhood in honour of Our Lady of La Treille, with attached indulgences for pilgrims to the shrine. This became a large archconfraternity that brought together some of the kingdom's elite. In 1269, Marguerite of Constantinople, Countess of Flanders, set up an annual procession in Lille in honour of the Virgin on the Sunday after the Feast of the Holy Trinity, when the canons of Saint Peter celebrated mass in honour of Our Lady of La Treille. This procession lasted until 1792. The following year, they held the celebration of several feasts in memory of the miracles performed by Mary since 1254.

Between 1519 and 1527, around thirty demon-possessed people were freed before the statue. Each case was described and authenticated by the canons in charge of the shrine. This is why collections of accounts of miracles have come down to us. Various illnesses are described in detail: blindness, plague, paralysis of the limbs, etc.

From the early 16th century onwards, the number of pilgrims grew steadily. Among them were many illustrious names: the Emperor Charles V, his son Philip II of Spain, Louis XIV in 1667...

In 1634, Jean Le Vasseur, Burgomaster of Lille, consecrated the city to Notre Dame de la Treille. Lille became the "City of Mary".

After the revolutionary period, which saw the complete cessation of ceremonies and the annual procession, as well as the destruction of the collegiate church of Saint Peter, the shrine gradually regained its popularity under the Restoration. The medieval votive chapel was replaced in 1854 by a much larger neo-Gothic church, which became the Cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille on 25 October 1913, when the Diocese of Lille was created, and finally designated as the seat of the Archdiocese of Lille in 2008.

The papacy has continued to honour the site, as it has since the 13th century: in 1874, Pope Pius IX had the statue of Our Lady of La Treille crowned, thus giving the shrine official recognition. Pope Pius X then elevated the building to the rank of minor basilica in 1904, before creating the cathedral chapter of Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille, whose statutes (1924) provide for an ecclesiastical dignitary appointed by the Pope and fifteen titular canons.

For 1384 years, the Virgin Protectress of the "Fontaine del Saulx" has watched over Lille and its inhabitants.

Patrick Sbalchiero

Au-delà des raisons d'y croire :

Some authors claim that the story of Our Lady of LaTreille is a pious legend. This hypothesis does not stand up to scrutiny: the shrine has existed for nearly fourteen centuries, the pilgrimages have continued steadily, and all the records mentioning miraculous events at the site have been preserved. The attention and interest shown by the Church is abundantly clear.

Aller plus loin :

Notre-Dame de la Treille. Lille, cité de la Vierge, Abbeville, slnd, 34 pages.

En savoir plus :

Édouard Hautecoeur, Histoire de l'église collégiale et du chapitre de Saint-Pierre de Lille, Lille, L. Quarré, 1899, 3 vols.
Pierre Pierrard, Histoire des diocèses de France. Les diocèses de Cambrai et Lille (t. 8.), Paris, Beauchesne, 1978.
Anne Bernet, Notre-Dame en France, 52 pèlerinages, Paris, Éditions de Paris, 2010.
Xavier Boniface (ed.), Olivier Liardet (ed.) and Frédéric Vienne (ed.), Lille, la grâce d'une cathédrale : La Treille, lumière du Nord, La Nuée Bleue, 2014.