On April 15, 2019, through a victorious miracle, the cathedral fire at Notre-Dame de Paris was stopped in its footsteps. The most famous statue of Notre-Dame de Paris, the Virgin of the Miraculous Pillar, has so much to tell us…

The Virgin of the Miraculous Pillar was the closest work of art to the debris that fell from the spire. A few inches would have been enough to destroy the statue. Yet, it remained perfectly intact! A miracle. A miracle made all the more obvious by the fact that it had been grazed: behind its back, a flaming beam had left a single black trail a few inches long, ablaze in coal, saying: “I’m burning, but I won’t damage you.”

The Virgin of the Pillar and its history

Originally, the magnificent statue of Notre Dame de Paris was housed in one of the many chapels on the Ile de la Cité. The first miracle was its miraculous escape from the massive destruction of the French Revolution.

Then in 1818, It was given the honor of being placed in the Cathedral’s central portal. Later on, in 1855, Viollet-le-Duc decided to place it indoors to protect it. Now, it is beaming in front of the famous second pillar in the cathedral.

The Virgin with Child and Lily

The Virgin and Child is breathtaking, showing the delicacy, creativity and vividness of the artist’s work. Mary and Jesus look at each other. In one hand, Jesus holds the orb, the sphere that represents the world—the insignia of his kingship. Mary’s expression is somewhat reserved, but her posture is supple. Between her fingers, she brandishes her own attribute, the lily, symbol of purity… and allusion to another royalty, that of the dynasty linked to the “kingdom of the Lilies”. Here is the Mother of Christ, bathed in majesty.

A statue that became a symbol

Among thousands of similar statues, the Virgin of the Pillar quickly became the most famous. It was in front of this statue that Paul Claudel, who had come to listen to the organ but didn’t dare join the faithful in the nave, underwent a radical conversion in 1886.

Many writers have written about it, and countless reproductions have been made. She became “Notre-Dame de Paris”, the personification of the Cathedral and the city. Even more so after the fire of 2019. She, the miraculous waits for us, always young, always loving, always present.

Based on an article by Father Yves Combeau, O.P.

Her burning message for our time

On the night of the fire, a spontaneous crowd of believers gathered around Notre Dame, Rosary in hand, to make a bulwark of prayers against the fire.

As in all the great battles of history, as soon as the people of God take up their Rosaries to raise their prayers to the Queen of Heaven, events take a different turn… and out of an evil comes a greater good. It’s God’s way of turning evil into good!

As the miraculous statue of Notre Dame de Paris shows us, Mary is victorious in all God’s battles! And here’s how, in the extraordinary words of Sister Lucia:

« The Blessed Virgin, in these recent times, has given a new effectiveness to the recitation of the rosary. So that there is no problem, however difficult, temporal or above all spiritual, referring to the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world or of religious communities, or to the life of peoples and nations. There is no problem, I say, however difficult, that we cannot solve by praying the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary we will save ourselves, we will sanctify ourselves, we will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls. » (interview between Sister Lucia of Fatima and Father Fuentes, December 26, 1957).

Through the miracle of Notre Dame de Paris, as at Fatima, Mary teaches us how to face the times ahead. In the midst of sorrow, she remains standing among her children, present and active. She shows us that no opposing force can overthrow her: the enemy is obliged to halt before Her and the Child she holds in her arms.

No place is safer than under Mary’s mantle!