CHRISTIAN FAITH OPPOSES AN ATTITUDE OF RESIGNATION
VATICAN CITY, SEP 8, 2007 (VIS) - Shortly after 9.45 a.m. today, the Pope arrived at the Austrian Marian shrine of Mariazell, having travelled by car from the apostolic nunciature in Vienna. On his arrival he was welcomed by more than 50,0000 people.
The town of Mariazell in the mountains of Styria was founded in the year 1157 following a miracle that befell a monk called Magnus. A great rock blocking his passage miraculously opened after he had invoked the help of the Virgin. In the 13th century Prince Henry Ladislao of Moravia built the first church there as a sign of thanks to the Virgin for his return to health after an illness. In 1399, Pope Boniface IX granted plenary indulgence for the week following the Octave of the Assumption, a move which led to a great increase in pilgrimages to Mariazell. In 1907, the church was elevated to the rank of minor basilica, and in 1908 the image of the Virgin received the papal crown.
The shrine was modified in the Baroque style during the 17th century, although it still has a Gothic portal. Inside is the Chapel of Graces, built by king Louis the Great of Hungary following a victory against the Turks. The chapel holds the famous Romanesque statue of the Virgin, draped in her traditional robe. The shrine and the image of the Virgin are among the most famous and visited in Europe.
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