History of Vilvoorde Chapter 22

 History of Vilvoorde Chapter 22

The following translated quotes are from the Dutch Wikipedia site:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilika_Maria_Trost_(Vilvoorde)

"In the 13th century, Beguines settled outside Vilvoorde in Steevoort. Sophie of Brabant, the wife of Duke Henry II, gave the Beguines the miraculous statue of Mary of Our Lady of Consolation and promoted the expansion of the beguinage.

In 1457, the founder of the Carmelites, John Soreth, initiated a community in Liège. After the destruction of Liège by Charles the Bold, a group of Carmelite nuns went to Vilvoorde in 1469 to the beguinage called Our Lady of Consolation. The monastic community is today the oldest existing of the order. In 1575, on the third Sunday after Easter, a procession passed through the streets of Vilvoorde for the first time, establishing today's pilgrimage to the Troostkermis. In 1578, during the iconoclasm, the monastery was demolished for strategic reasons for better defense of the city. In 1586 the sisters were able to return from Mechelen and moved to the former St. Nicholas Hospital. This was rebuilt several times, during the partial new construction from 1641 to 1646 the sisters' choir was built as a chapel. In 1663, the construction of the adjoining domed building of the monastery church began and was completed two years later. The church was consecrated in 1671 by the Archbishop of Mechelen, Alphonsus de Berghes."

The following translated quotes are from the Dutch Wikipedia site:

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basiliek_en_klooster_van_Onze-Lieve-Vrouw_van_Troost

"In the 13th century, beguines settled just outside Vilvoorde in Peutie. In 1469, after the destruction of Liège byCharles the Bold, a group of Carmelites went to the Vilvoorde beguinage that bore the name Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ten Troost.

Sofia, the wife of Duke Henry II, donated the miraculous statue of Mary to the beguines and had the beguinage made larger and more spacious.

During the Iconoclasm, Vilvoorde was ordered to bring the city into an optimal state of defense. All houses outside the city, including the beguinage, had to be demolished. In 1633 the Steevoort chapel was built in memory of this event. The sisters moved within the city, where they were assigned the Sint-Niklaasgasthuis.

After 1578, the sisters fled five times with the miraculous statue of Mary. In 1641 the construction of the current Troostkerk started. Two years later, the church was completed.

After a rather long period of rest, the gloomy end of the 18th century began. The sisters were expelled by the French revolutionaries and their property was sold. After the concordat with Napoleon, the sisters were able to return to their convent.

The church was elevated to a basilica on May 7, 2006, during the weekend of the Consolation Fair."

End quotes.

Look again at this quote: "After 1578, the sisters fled five times with the miraculous statue of Mary. In 1641 the construction of the current Troostkerk started. Two years later, the church was completed." 

This is the exact same period of time when Marian devotion, with pilgrimages, at Scherpenheuvel, Luxembourg, and Kevelaer became popular. The statue at Scherpenheuvel appeared in the last half of the 16th century, when the sisters were forced to leave several times. Construction on a new church for the sisters began in 1641, the same year Our Lady of Consolation came to Kevelaer. Persecuting the Carmelite sisters did not prevent the spread of Marian devotion in the region. Like the persecution of the first century Christians helped to spread Christianity, the persecution of those who had a devotion to Our Lady of Consolation seems to have spread that devotion. Perhaps that is why a statue was hidden in a tree in a lonely place?

Today, many of the Carmelite nuns at Vilvoorde are from the Philippines. Our Lady of Consolation is well known in the Philippines. We will look at that in a later post.