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History
According to legend, one day, while tending his herd, the
youngest of seven children of a ploughman's family, the
Frayssinets, noticed the strange habit of one of his oxen. The ox kept
kneeling near bush. The child drew near and hediscovered a
statue of the Virgin near the brambles.
Full of joy, he brought it to his mother and exclaimed :
"God has
sent us a providenfial discovery that we should all Happy
Encounter ". The new Virgin had its name. It was placed in a chest
and the priest from Sainte ‑ Radegonde was invited to come and
view it. When the chest was opened, the Virgin had disappeared.
However, the young shepherd found it in the bushes.
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He brought it back to the priest who put it in a safer place.
Nevertheless, again the Virgin disappeared and was found
exactly where it was first discovered. That is where the priest
built a shrine which was soon replaced by a small chapel. It
was blessed on August 27th 1551. From then on, lots of miracles
were reported and so more and more pilgrimages were
organized.
About 20 cm tall, made of an unknown material, worn
by the pious
thanks of all the pilgrims, the miraculous statue is now in a
shrine hidden behind the main altar. The basilica of Notre‑Dame was
built in 1607‑1854 a replacement for the royal chapel which had
been built by Queen Marguerite de Valois who was Henry IV's
wife.
The statue of the Virgin which now stands on the top of the
hill above the village of Bon-Encontre was erected in 1861. A
group of Marist brothers and sisters were instrumental in
launching the scheme. They were supported by the bishop, Mgr de
Vezins , and the local priest , le Père Convert. Originally, the
statue was 15m high but in 1880, it was restored and heightened
to reach 16.80m
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