About
On the eve of the feast of the Annunciation, some shepherds out in the fields at night saw a bright light coming from the area of the chapel of Saint John the Baptist near Chalons-sur-Marne, France. The light was coming from a bush that was engulfed in flames; the plant was unharmed as was a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary that stood in the middle of the fire. The fire burned through the night and into the next day, the Annunciation, and crowds, including Charles of Poitiers, the Bishop of Chalons, came to see the spectacle.
When the flames finally died down, Bishop Charles carried the statue to the chapel. He then had a church built on the site of the miraculous fire; it was built so fast that the locals says angels would come at night and work on the structure. It quickly became a pilgrimage site; Saint Joan of Arc visited the site in 1429.
During the persecutions of the French Revolution, the statue was hidden, but when the persecutions ended, it was returned to the altar. Healing miracles have been reported in the church. Pope Leo XIII ordered the solemn coronation of the miraculous statue.
Source: https://catholicsaints.info/our-lady-of-the-thorns/
