France: A Banner Honoring the Virgin Mary Displayed in a Football Stadium
It was an unusual scene, at least in France, that unfolded in the Olympique Lyonnais (OL) stadium: OL supporters unfurled a huge banner honoring the Virgin Mary and the Fourvière basilica, on December 10, 2023. The stadium even shook with the sound of Ave Maria, sung by OL supporters.
Several meters high, the banner represented two emblematic monuments of Lyon: the basilica of Fourvière and the statue of the Virgin. The famous basilica was built between 1872 and 1884, in particular following a wish from the city of Lyon to be protected during the war of 1870. As for the statue of the Virgin Mary, it was placed on the site of the earlier church in 1852.
The banner not only honored the Virgin Mary, an explicit tribute was added with a long inscription printed along the bottom of the “banner”: “Lyon, forever under the protection of the Virgin Mary.” One must admit that invoking the protector of Lyon seems to have been an appeal of last resort for OL, in distress since the start of the championship.
It should be noted that the city of Lyon is very attached to the figure of the Holy Virgin. Every year, on December 8, the Festival of Lights is celebrated, which commemorates the erection of the statue of the Immaculate Virgin on December 8, 1852. A procession, with the Archbishop of Lyon at its head, travels through streets lit by thousands of lights.
Today, the procession brings together the faithful of Lyon attached to this tradition, but also tourists, since the city decided, in 1989, to participate with the illuminations. At the end of the procession, on Fourvière hill, pilgrims thank the Virgin Mary, at the foot of her golden statue installed to thank her for having saved the city from the plague in 1643.
(Source : cath.ch – FSSPX.Actualités)
Illustration : “X”, Eglise et sport
