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Liesse-Notre-Dame (, before 1988: ''Liesse'') is a commune in the
Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...
department in
Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as Upper France, is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. ...
in northern
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. In the Middle Ages, the village near Laon developed around the cult of the Black Virgin, known as Notre-Dame de Liesse (Our Lady of Liesse, which happens to be French for Joy/Jubilation). Pope
Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
granted the Marian image a decree of
canonical coronation A canonical coronation () is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a formal decree of a papal bull, in which the pope bestows the pontifical right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureola, aureole to an image of ...
on 18 August 1857.


Basilica of Notre-Dame de Liesse

The basilica was built during the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. According to ancient documents, the first shrine of Liesse was built by the pious Bartholomew of Vir, with the stones left over from the construction of
Laon Cathedral Laon Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic church located in Laon, Aisne, Hauts-de-France, France. Built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, it is one of the most important and stylistically unified examples of early Gothic architecture. The c ...
. The portal and façade were constructed in the fifteenth century by Bishop of Laon, Charles of Luxembourg (1473–1519), son of the Count of Saint Pol, Constable of France under
Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
. Formerly one of the portal stones were engraved with the inscription: In November 1568, the troops of the Protestant Prince of Orange looted the village and its church, and having broken the statues and removed the bells, set fire to the church, reducing the bell tower to ashes. Restoration commenced nine years later. At a young age, Madame Acarie was brought to Liesse in 1572 by her parents, as was the child
Henri Boudon Henri-Marie Boudon (14 January 1624 – 31 August 1702) was a 17th-century Roman Catholic French abbot and spiritual author. Life Boudon was born in La Fère in Picardy to Jean and Antoinette Jourdin Boudon. His father was lieutenant of the cita ...
. It was a favorite shrine of Princess
Henrietta Maria of France Henrietta Maria of France ( French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until his execution on 30 January 1649. She was ...
.
Jean-Jacques Olier Jean-Jacques Olier, S.S. (20 September 1608 – 2 April 1657) was a French Catholic priest and the founder of the Sulpicians. He also helped to establish the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, which organized the settlement of a new town ca ...
visited in 1632. In 1686, after Trinity Sunday, 1686, after Jean-Baptiste de La Salle and the Brothers took their first vows, they made a pilgrimage to Liesse, walking all through the night, and again pronounced the vows before at the statue of Our Lady of Joy above the main altar). The church is now a minor basilica. Benedict Labre made a pilgrimage to Liesse in 1770. Prior to the Revolution, pilgrimages supported the economy of the village. There were a number of hostelries to provide accommodations for pilgrims. The manufacture and sale of religious souvenirs was a dominant activity. The shrine was destroyed during the French Revolution, and later rebuilt.


Notre-Dame de Liesse

Liesse was a favorite destination for royal pilgrimages, visited by
Louis VII Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...
, Charles VI, Charles VII, and others. Devotion to Our Lady of Joy spread throughout France, particularly to Normandy where there are a number of churches dedicated to Mary under this title. An annual pilgrimage used to be held in
Aude Aude ( ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it " ...
to a is in Fleury sanctuary refounded in the seventeenth century by an archbishop of Narbonne named Louis Vervins. Our Lady of Liesse is also honored in Belgium, Canada, and
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
. Jesuits spread their devotion to Africa. Notre-Dame de Liesse is the patroness of the Diocese of Soissons. The present site contains a pilgrim shelter that is intended primarily to accommodate pilgrims and gatherings of parishes in the diocese of Soissons, but it is open also to families and associations.


Legends

The statue is said to have been brought to Liesse by three
Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...
. The three were brothers and members of the noble house of Eppes in Picardya. Sometime in the twelfth century, while protecting the fortress of Bersabee, near Ascalon, they were captured in a Saracene ambush and taken to the Sultan of Egypt. The knights refused to convert to Islam, despite theological arguments and promises of gold and honor. Angels brought the three imprisoned knights a small statue of Our Lady for consolation. The Sultan decided to send his daughter Ismeria to the dungeon to convert the three knights. But the knights preferred to talk about what unites people of different religions. She learns about the Christian god and is prompted to assist in the brothers' escape. During their flight all four fall asleep, and during their sleep are miraculously transported to Northern France. Awakening close to the Eppes’ castle in Picardy, their joy and that of their family is immense. Ismeria receives baptism in the cathedral of Laon. The knights preserved the statue of the Madonna, and built a handsome church to receive Our Lady of Liesse.Roten, Johann G., "Our Lady of Liesse", Marian Library, University of Dayton
/ref> According to a sixteenth century tradition, the knights were the sons of William, sire of Eppes. Their names were Jean, Hector, and Henri. A second story recounts how in 1139 a thief had recourse to Notre-Dame de Liesse and she saved him from hanging.


Grand Marais

The Grand Marais consists of about twenty hectares of marshland with mainly bog ponds, wet wood and reed beds.In the eighteenth century, the march was mainly used for grazing and for cutting peat for heating. The Great Swamp is home to over 232 species of plants, birds and dragonflies native to Picardy. The local municipal council works with the Conservatory of Natural Sites of Picardie to preserve the site."Basilica", Ville de Liesse Notre-Dame


Population


See also

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Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 796 communes in the French department of Aisne. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):Communes of Aisne Aisne communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia