Feast of the Miracles of Our Lady of Déols

It was in the year 1187 that the miracle occurred “which served above all,” says Father Poiré, “to renew the devotion of all the surrounding peoples, and the respect that was paid from then on to this place where the Mother of God gave such evident marks of her presence and her maternal affection” [1]: it took place on the occasion of the sacrilege of which a Coterel was guilty.

The Coterels, or Routiers, or Brabançons, were wretches of the sect of Peter of Bruys, a sort of Manichaean who had especially infected Languedoc and Gascony with his errors. They made it their profession to fear neither God nor man; they took service under anyone who wished to commit a crime, and they distinguished themselves by all kinds of brigandage. Henry II, King of England, had taken them into his service in 1174 to fight his son Richard: Richard had done like his father, and Philip Augustus had followed the example of his rivals.

To protect the town of Déols from the attempts of the King of France, who was besieging Châteauroux, Richard sent a reinforcement of Coterels to this first place. Now, it happened that on May 29, 1187, several of these soldiers were playing dice in front of the side portal of the church, on the north side, where an image of the Blessed Virgin holding the Infant Jesus in her arms was placed, an image that was in great veneration. “One of them, a monster of iniquity, possessed by the demon, says Rigord, historian of Philip Augustus, was losing ill-gotten money at this detestable game, and in anger, he burst out in blasphemies against the Holy Virgin and against God. Then, transported with rage, he raised his eyes and saw sculpted upon the porch of the church the image of Blessed Mary holding the Infant Jesus in her arms. He looks at it with eyes flashing with fury, and vomits in his criminal delirium torrents of blasphemies against our common Queen and against God. Oh sorrow! this wretch, this new Judas, grabs a stone and, in full view of everyone, throws it at the holy image, breaking off an arm of the Infant Jesus, which falls to the ground. Immediately (and we have this fact from people who were at the siege), blood streams in abundance from the wound and flows to the ground. The wretched Coterel who had been guilty of such an awful outrage was seized with a frenzied tremor and expired on the spot.” John Lackland arrived at that moment, accompanied by Adhémar, Viscount of Limoges; he picked up the precious fragment, and later he deposited it in a rich chapel that he had built in England and dedicated to the Holy Virgin; she was invoked there under the title of Our Lady of the Redoubt.

At the news of this marvel, terror was great among the men of war: Philip Augustus feared that the presence of the Coterels in his army might draw down upon himself and his arms the curses of heaven; he dismissed all those in his pay. Rigord, in relating this miracle, adds that a crowd of sick people, having collected a few drops of the miraculous blood, were instantly cured of their infirmities. A Confraternity was established in the very year 1187 in memory of this marvel; it flourished until the revolution of '93, and the Reverend Father Dubouchat, parish priest of Déols, reorganized it in 1830. From time immemorial, a commemorative feast has been celebrated in the diocese of Bourges on May 31, under the title of Miracle of Our Lady of Déols; it has been preserved in the new Proper under the name of Feast of the Miracles of Our Lady of Bourg-Dieu, and its office was approved by the Congregation of Rites.

A few weeks after this prodigious event (it was the Sunday preceding the nativity of Saint John the Baptist), Philip Augustus came to pitch his tents near Bourg-Dieu: his camp was scarcely half a league away. After attempting in vain, for two days, arrangements for peace, on Tuesday, the eve of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, both sides drew up in battle array, and prepared for a combat that, according to the testimony of all historians, was bound to be fierce and bloody. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of Déols, prostrate before the holy image of Mary, implored the Mother of God to manifest her power and prevent the shedding of blood. Already swords were drawn from their scabbards; bows were bent; the signal was about to be given: suddenly Henry II, King of England, and Richard, his son, came to Philip Augustus and accepted his conditions. Peace was concluded: then were seen lords, kings, the people, and soldiers gathering around the miraculous image; even princes of the Church were able to bear witness to the wonders taking place before their eyes: for Cardinals Soffredus and Bovon, legates of the Holy See, spent fifteen days at the monastery. One of their couriers, who had been very severely injured in the foot, had himself carried before the door of the church to pray there to the Blessed Virgin, and was healed [2].

The miracles of Our Lady of Déols are therefore not attested only by the monks of the abbey; according to the remark of the author of the manuscript cited by Father Labbe, attempts would have been made to reject their testimony had it stood alone; but they are affirmed by kings, by princes, by a multitude, as it were, innumerable, gathered there from all parts of Western Europe. Astruunt miraculorum veritatem reges et principes, et occidentalis Europæ fere universæ multitudo.

Anséald de Barbançois was one of the most formidable leaders of the Routiers. We find in the ancient manuscript, edited by Father Labbe, the account that this soldier himself gave to the monks of the healing for which he acknowledged himself indebted to Our Lady of Déols. We shall let him speak:

“About four years ago,” he told them, “in an expedition in which I accompanied Count Richard, I was struck in the face by an angular dart, which penetrated so deeply into my upper jaw that the doctors could not extract it; the wound healed, and that was that. But this week I experienced horrible pain in my jaw. Yesterday, Saturday (it was June 21 of the year 1187), suffering like the damned, and dreading having to undergo the operation, I ventured to pray to the Virgin Mary. Good and clement Lady, I said to her, if you heal me, I give myself to you; you become my suzerain, and every year of my life I will pay you a silver coin, in recognition of my vassalage; I make this vow. Scarcely had I spoken, when behold, the dart that caused me so much suffering moved by a divine power, detached itself without any pain and fell into my mouth; I took it and showed it to those around me. They were filled with admiration and blessed the good Virgin, who does good even to those who hardly deserve it. I asked for my horse; with the help of my comrades, I mounted it, for after so much suffering and a long fast, I could not have done so without their help; I arrive here to deposit my tribute upon the sacred stone. I told the monks what Our Lady, ever so compassionate, had done in my favor; they replied to me that I had to return today, Sunday, and bring the angular dart as a monument of the grace obtained. I promised to do so, provided, however, that my strength allowed it. Leaning on two comrades, I managed to cross the steps of the altar. But my prayer finished and my offering deposited, I felt completely healed. Withdraw, I said to my men; I no longer need your services: Our Lady has restored my health, and I can now affirm that I will return tomorrow with the dart that bears witness to her goodness. Here is this dart; I deliver it to you; I publicly recognize and loudly confess the clemency of Mary; I swear it, and I shall be faithful to my oath: I renounce forever the sacrilegious trade I have pursued until now.”

While Anséald de Barbançois spoke in this manner, the numerous horsemen who had accompanied him, and the crowd of people who had rushed there, glorified the Mother of God with a joy mixed with respectful awe.

At the same time, Our Lady of Déols made her power shine forth through another miracle at Argenton, a small town situated seven leagues south-west of Déols [3].

An only child, aged about three years, fell into a state of languor that brought about death. The heartbroken parents implore the help of Our Lady of Déols; with that faith that does violence to heaven, they beseech the Virgin to recall their child to life: if she grants their prayer, they will bring him to Déols to consecrate him to her. The neighbors had rushed to console this heartbroken father and mother; and because the child was truly dead, they shroud him and arrange everything for his funeral. However, the father and mother did not cease to hope; they continued to pray with tears; they asked the Virgin again for the child they had lost. Such a lively faith received its reward: suddenly the child moves; with his little hand, he pushes away from his face the shroud that covered him; he is alive! To try to portray the gratitude, the joy of the parents, the admiration of the neighbors, would be to attempt the impossible; but they came to Déols with the child, and the vow was fulfilled.

Father Labbe declares having read, in the ancient manuscript delivered to him, more than two hundred miracles wrought by Our Lady of Déols; he cites those of which we have just spoken.

On Sunday, the last day of May of the year 1187, at the hour of Vespers, the holy image broke the necklace that adorned its neck; it moved on its base as if it wished to change place [4]. The monks transported it into the interior of the temple, and “placed it,” says Rigord, “at the bottom of the church while singing hymns and canticles.” Later, a high chapel was built above the entrance gate, at the very place where the wonder had occurred; it enclosed within its precinct the lateral facade, the scene of so many miracles. When this chapel was completed, the image of Our Lady of Déols was restored to its former place “with great solemnity and with a great gathering of people,” says Thomas de la Thaumassière [5].

In 1348, the town of Levroux, ravaged by the plague which, under the reign of Philip of Valois, swept across all of Europe, had recourse to Our Lady of Déols, and in gratitude for the assistance it received from her, made a vow to offer every year a candle that would burn at Mary's altar. This pious custom still existed at the time of the Revolution. In 1832, the inhabitants of Levroux, on the occasion of the cholera, recalled the promise of their fathers, and every year since then on Whit Monday, they bring their offering to Déols. The clergy of Bourg-Dieu go to meet the pious deputation up to the parish boundary; they proceed in procession to the church to the singing of psalms: the candle decorated with ribbons is carried with honor; it is blessed, and this blessing is followed by solemn Mass.

Notes of the edition:

[1] Triple couronne, ch. XII.

[2] M. S. apud Labbe, Bibliotheca nova.

[3] In castello, cui nomen est Argentonio, factum est divinitus quod sequitur. (M. S. apud Labbe.)

[4] Dominica pridie calendas Junii, circa Vesperam, visa est eadem Imago moveri quasi vellet se inde transferre. (Ancient Breviary of Bourges.)

[5] Histoire du Berry.

Taken from the booklet by the Rev. Fr. Possoz, of the Society of Jesus: Le Saint Pèlerinage de Notre-Dame de Déols, près Châteauroux (Indre). Nantes, 1853.

This notice reproduces the historical text of the Petits Bollandistes, proofread against the digitized pages. The traditions and assessments of the author belong to the period of the work.

Paul Guérin, Les Petits Bollandistes, volume 6, p. 348–353. Digitized copy by the Bibliothèque nationale de France: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k30736h

Editorial note: The accounts, assessments, and present-tense statements in this notice belong to the old edition of the Petits Bollandistes. The article concerns the Marian cult of Déols and the history of its pilgrimage.