Luxembourg Chapter 15
North of Nancy, in Luxembourg, in 1624, a Jesuit priest named Jacques Brocquart had his students make a procession with a statue of the Madonna to a location outside the walls of the city on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. In 1626 the region was struck by the plague. Fr. Jacques was also afflicted by the plague. He vowed to build a chapel for the statue if he recovered. He did recover and built a chapel and made a procession with the statue to the chapel. People heard of this, and more and more people came to pray for healing. Stories of healings spread. Fr. Jacques, being an educated Jesuit, was aware of the Latin titles of Mary. He had been afflicted by the plague and then healed. So, he consecrated the chapel to "Our Lady of Luxembourg, Consolatrix Afflictorum".
The statue at Leopold, Indiana, looks like the Luxembourg statue. The Scherpenheuvel statue looks similar, but not exactly the same. The title of Our Lady of Consolation, Onze Lieve Vrouw van Troost, was known in the region due to the presence of the Augustinians and also the Carmelites. There was an established tradition in the region of praying to Our Lady of Consolation whenever a family member or friend needed healing.
The same thing happens in Luxembourg that happened in Belgium. More and more pilgrims travel to the site. The chapel has six sides and a dome and looks very similar to the chapel at Scherpenheuvel. Eventually, the statue is moved into a large church inside the city. The annual procession becomes a weeklong event. Then it becomes a two-week event. Vendors sell souvenirs. One souvenir is a picture of Our Lady of Consolation, Consolatrix Afflictorum, on a copper rectangle 3 1/2 by 4 1/4 inches.
Here is a picture of the statue in Luxembourg:
And here is the same statue without the mantel:
Here is a link to a Luxembourg site with more information:
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