(Jan) 18. Our Lady of Dijon, in Burgundy. This image, formerly called Our Lady of Hope, delivered the city from the fury of the Swiss, A. D. 1513; in gratitude for this favour,
a general procession takes place every year. (Trip . Cour., n. 42.)
Image (click it to enlarge): Holy card of Our Lady of Dijon.
The amazing story of the
preservation of the statue of Our Lady of Dijon:
During the dark days of the Masonic French Revolution, as was common throughout France at that time, mobs of iconoclasts
attacked the Catholic churches and stole, defaced, or destroyed the sacred religious items within and without.
In Dijon, they attacked the Église Notre-Dame. A young girl, Marthe Launy, wanted to protect the centuries-long venerated statue of Our Lady of Dijon [a Madonna & Child type], but was afraid that she would be
harmed by the hostile crowd if she announced that intention. So this intelligent youngster climbed on the altar, raised up the statue and loudly proclaimed it as her share of the spoils. One local man disputed the claim and as they struggled, he knocked both
Marthe and the statue to the ground. No damage was done to the Mother, but the Child Jesus on her lap was broken into seven pieces. Local tradition claims that the Son sacrificed
Himself to save His Mother.
A local cobbler ended up with the Vierge and
he attempted to charge the faithful to come to view or pray at the statue. Marthe and her aunt scraped together what money they had saved and bought the statue from the cobbler and hid it for several years. When it finally become safe enough
to display the Madonna again, they returned it to the church. A great procession accompanied the statue from her house to the church, where She remains today.
Related Link: Marie-Julie Jahenny Prophecies on Hidden King & Clergy
Source: "Historical Calendar of the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin, With the Foundations and Churches Dedicated to Her", from Abbé Orsini's work, "Life of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, Mother of God", Imprimatur 1858 A.D.