Marie de Nazareth
To Jesus, through Mary
Chronicles show that the statue of the Virgin Mary in 's-Hertogenbosch (or Den Bosch) became an object of popular devotion from 1380. The statue is 45 inches tall and made out of oak. The Virgin Mary is standing in an upright position, with her arms at right angles to her body. She is holding the Child Jesus on her left hand and in her right she holds an apple. The Chapel of the Blessed Virgin, known as Our Sweet Lady, was built at St John's in Den Bosch and quickly turned into a place of pilgrimage. The miraculous statue attracted pilgrims from all parts of Europe and many miracles occurred.
During the renovation of the ancient Romanesque church dedicated to St John (enlarged to become a great cathedral and completed in 1561), the statues were set aside. One of them, the Madonna and Child, was damaged to such a point that a worker was ready to burn it when his supervisor stopped him, and asked him to repair it instead. This is how a series of miracles began in Den Bosch, recorded in 1382 in the Cathedral's "Book of Miracles."
In the year 1566 began the occupation of the Calvinists: they plundered many churches, but Our Sweet Lady was saved. Later in the early seventeenth century, Spanish troops besieged the city for four and a half months, during which the statue of Our Sweet Mother was placed on a throne in front of the pulpit at St John's, and the faithful (led by their fearless bishop Michael Ophovius) came daily to pray for deliverance. On September 14, 1629, the city was conquered by the Spaniards. The capitulation agreed that all statues, paintings and Church ornaments would be preserved, but the soldiers were not bothered by regulations, and they began their vandalism at St John's. Two Carmelites rushed to the church, seized the statue and brought it to Bishop Ophovius.
The statue of Our Sweet Lady was given to a woman from the parish for safekeeping. This lady was a pious woman, belonging to one of the noble families of Den Bosch. However, some felt that the statue would not be safe for long in her house. So, on the bishop's advice, it was decided to take it to Belgium. They hid the statue in a large wooden chest and, despite the heavy surveillance, managed to get outside the city gate. The journey was not easy due the enemy, but they finally reached Antwerp safely with the statue at the end of 1629. On March 25, 1630, the statue of Our Sweet Lady was taken to St Geradus's Church in Brussels and then transferred again in 1641 to Koudenberg Church also in Brussels and the veneration of Our Lady of Den Bosch continued in Brussels.
In 1810 Napoleon restored the Cathedral of Den Bosch to the Catholics, but the statue was sorely missed. The bishop of the diocese, Bishop J. Zwijsen, a man with an iron will, persevered and, by his repeated and persistent efforts, finally convinced the Belgians, in the autumn of 1853, to return the miraculous statue to the Cathedral of Den Bosch. On December 27, the feast of the patron saint St John the Evangelist, the statue of Our Sweet Mother was returned in a procession to the high altar at St John's Cathedral. On March 27, 1878, the statue was solemnly crowned by the bishop of the city in the name of Pope Leo XIII. On May 12, 1985, Our Sweet Lady of Den Bosch was carried in procession to meet Pope JP II on his visit.
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