Ex-votos at Notre-Dame de la Garde, Marseilles
A little more on these ex-votos, which I find interesting. This is a close-up view of the miniature ships hanging from the ceiling in the previous photograph. As I mentioned earlier, ex-votos are offerings by worshipers in gratitude for favours obtained from saints or divinity. Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica is famous for them, but is not unique in having them. Here, the favours obtained are mostly related to disasters at sea – sailors or passengers having been saved from drowning – but it can be anything. In Montreal there is one such famous sanctuary, the Saint Joseph's Oratory, where thousands of crutches and similar items hang on a wall from people who have been healed by Brother André who, as a result, was canonized saint in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI (by the way, today, Feb 28, 2013, is Pope Benedict's last day in office).
Ex-votos at Notre-Dame de la Garde, Marseilles
A little more on these ex-votos, which I find interesting. This is a close-up view of the miniature ships hanging from the ceiling in the previous photograph. As I mentioned earlier, ex-votos are offerings by worshipers in gratitude for favours obtained from saints or divinity. Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica is famous for them, but is not unique in having them. Here, the favours obtained are mostly related to disasters at sea – sailors or passengers having been saved from drowning – but it can be anything. In Montreal there is one such famous sanctuary, the Saint Joseph's Oratory, where thousands of crutches and similar items hang on a wall from people who have been healed by Brother André who, as a result, was canonized saint in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI (by the way, today, Feb 28, 2013, is Pope Benedict's last day in office).