Our Lady of Meritxell ( ca, Mare de Déu de Meritxell, ) is an

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

depicting an

apparition of the Virgin Mary A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time. In the Catholic Church, in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian a ...

. Our Lady of Meritxell is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

. The original statue dated from the late 12th century. However, the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

in which it was housed burned down on September 8 1972, and the statue was destroyed. A

replica A 1:1 replica is an exact copy of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without claiming to be identical. Al ...

can be found in the new Meritxell Basilica, designed in 1976 by

Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura (RBTA) is a architecture firm that was founded in 1963 by Ricardo Bofill, initially as Taller de Arquitectura ("Architecture Workshop" in Spanish). It is headquartered in Sant Just Desvern near Barcelona, i ...

. The

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined ...

Joan Coromines says that "Meritxell" is a diminutive of ''merig'', from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''meridiem'' (midday in English). Merig is a name used by shepherds to denote a pasture with lot of sun. The image was

canonically crowned A canonical coronation ( la, Coronatio Canonica) is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a bull, in which the pope bestows the right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureole to an image of Christ, Mary or Jo ...

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Ecclesiastical Latin, Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his deat ...

on 8 September 1921.

Legend

In the late 12th century, on January 6, a wild

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

in bloom was found by villagers from Meritxell going to

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

Canillo Canillo () is one of the parishes of Andorra. Canillo is also the name of the main town of the parish. The parish is considered the religious center of Andorra with the Sanctuary and Chapel of Our Lady of Meritxell, patron saint of Andorra, and c ...

. It was out of season and at its base was found a statue of the

Virgin and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent ...

. The statue was placed in the Canillo church. However, the statue was found under the same wild rose the next day. The statue was taken to the church of

Encamp Encamp () is one of the parishes of Andorra, located on the Valira d'Orient river. It is also the name of the main town in the parish. Other settlements include Vila, El Pas de la Casa, Grau Roig, El Tremat, La Mosquera and Les Bons. As of 2004, ...

. However, as before, the statue was again found under the same wild rose on the next day. As in similar legends elsewhere, the villagers of Meritxell took this as a sign and decided to build a new chapel in their town after they found an open space miraculously untouched by the winter snows.

Influence

The feast day of Our Lady of Meritxell is September 8 and the Andorran National Day. The image is also mentioned in the anthem of Andorra."El Gran Carlemany", National Anthems
/ref> "Meritxell" is a relatively frequent female name among Andorran women and other Catalan-speaking women. Notable persons with the name include: * Meritxell Lavanchy, actress. * Meritxell Mateu i Pi, former foreign minister of Andorra. * Meritxell Batet Lamaña, member of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

. The hospital, Nostra Senyora de Meritxell Hospital is also named after her.

References

External links

Our Lady of Meritxell
official website {{coord, 42, 33, 14, N, 1, 35, 25, E, region:AD_source:kolossus-cawiki, display=title 12th-century sculptures 12th-century establishments in Andorra Meritxell Meritxell Catholic Church in Andorra Ricardo Bofill buildings Buildings and structures in Andorra Tourist attractions in Andorra Public holidays in Andorra September events Romanesque sculptures

Legend

Influence

See also

References

External links