In the early Middle Ages, Saint Materne, then bishop of Tongeren, christianized the region. He ended up in the village of Walcourt. After converting the villagers, he built a sanctuary on a hilltop (probably replacing a pagan one), where he placed a self made wooden statue of Mary.
When during the 13th century a fire destroyed the church and most of the village, the statue escaped by flying over the flames and hiding in a tree. The locals were unable to move the statue. In desperation, they called on the help of their lord, Duke Thiery of Rochefort. When he approached the tree, his horse refused three times to go further. The Duke dismounted and continued on foot. He promised the Madonna to rebuild her church, and to the surprise of the spectators, the Madonna threw herself into the arms of the Duke ...
Floor patterns in the basilica
Ex-votos
Enigmatic figure in the outside wall
No comments:
Post a Comment