FRANCE.

(Dedication of to the Virgin Mary?)

The declaration of Louis XIII. concerning this act of devotion to the holy Virgin is dated the tenth of February, 1638. It will be found entire in the French Mercury; Tom. xxii. p. 284 et seq. ³⁵ I will only take this part of it:— “For these causes we have declared, and do declare, that taking the most holy and glorious virgin for the special protectress of our kingdom, we particularly consecrate to her our person, our state, our crown, and our subjects, beseeching her to inspire us with a holy conduct, and to defend this kingdom so carefully against the efforts of all its enemies, that whether it suffer the scourge of war, or enjoy the calm of peace, which we beg of God with all our heart, it may never depart out of the ways of grace, which lead to those of glory. And that posterity may never fail to pursue our desires upon this subject, for the immortal remembrance, and in testimony of the present consecration which we make, we will cause the great altar of the cathedral church of Paris to be built anew, with an image of the Virgin embracing her precious son in her arms, descended from the cross; we will be represented at the feet of the son and of the mother, offering them our crown and sceptre. We admonish the archbishop of Paris, and enjoin him, that he annually, on the day and feast of the Assumption, make a commemoration of our present declaration in the high mass, which shall be said in his cathedral church, and after the vespers of the same day, that a procession be made in the said church, at which all the sovereign companies shall assist, and the body of the city, with equal ceremony, as is observed at the most solemn general processions; which we will also have done in all churches, both parochial and monasterial, of the said city and suburbs; and in all towns,

boroughs, and villages, of the said diocese of Paris. We in like manner exhort all archbishops and bishops of our kingdom, and at the same time enjoin them to cause the same solemnity to be celebrated in the episcopal churches, and other churches of their dioceses.” —Art. Lewis XIII.