NOTRE-DAME-DE-LA GARDE
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An Astonishing
Architectural Style...
...And Astonishing
Particularities
Our Lady of the Guard
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"Our Good Mother"
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A story of abiding tenacity
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And that is indeed fitting, for she symbolizes the rich diversity, the apparent contradictions, the colourful and intense life of Marseilles, an astonishing city in many ways.
On the other hand, as Cardinal Coffy pointed out in a text written in 1995, " the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Guard and its pilgrimages were not the fruit of apparitions as is the case with many other places of pilgrimage.
Instead, they began with a man who came up this hill to get away from everything and give himself over to prayer."
Let's add that since then "Our Good Mother " has not given up her serenity and her smiling majesty : no spectacular or newsworthy phenomenon has ever happened with the basilica statues.
There are other motivations than the attraction of that sort of manifestation which bring crowds to the top of the hill.
On an anecdotal level, several specific characteristics of Our Lady of the Guard should be mentioned :
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The statue of "Our Good Mother", 11.20 metres high, is considered to be the largest object in the world made of galvanoplastic copper (by immersing the central part in an electrolytic bath of copper sulfate). This copper statue was then gilded to protect it against sea air corrosion. |
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