For three centuries, a curious scene made of marble has played out at the center of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. In the middle of the high altar rises a Virgin Mary gazing heavenward, surrounded by two kneeling men whom many visitors don't realize were two of France's most illustrious monarchs: Louis XIV (reigned 1643-1715) and his father Louis XIII (1610-1643).
This spectacular ensemble, created in the final years of Louis XIV's reign, represents more than just a gift from a son to his progenitor. It crystallizes a desire that links France to this major figure of Christianity: Louis XIII's vow in 1638 to consecrate his kingdom to the Virgin Mary and establish August 15 as the day of her celebration.
"Taking the most holy and glorious Virgin as special protector of our kingdom, we consecrate to her in particular our person, our State, our crown and our subjects," formalized the official act that was declared on February 10, 1638. The text, which was legally binding, established the yearly observance of the Assumption, a Catholic tradition celebrating Mary's bodily ascent to heaven. From this point on, prayers and parades would take place across the kingdom to seek her protection on this day.
The son of Henri IV and Marie de Médicis had just five years left to live, and this vow came as a sign of relief at having escaped the greatest perils of his life. Louis XIII had dealt with plots hatched by his brother Gaston d'Orléans (1608-1660), the Thirty Years' War that ravaged Europe between 1618 and 1648, and the immense danger of being unable to produce an heir to the throne that had loomed over his dynasty for a long time.
The pregnancy of his wife Anne of Austria in 1638, after 23 years of sterile marriage, was seen as a grace from the Virgin. The child, the future Louis XIV, was named Louis-Dieudonné ("God-given"), echoing this providence. "This birth was perceived as a miracle, a divine response to the consecration of the kingdom," said art historian Léo Minois (Les Cahiers de Framespa, 2012). It was against this backdrop that Louis XIII's vow, encouraged by his minister of state Richelieu (1585-1642), consecrated a long trajectory linking the Virgin to French power.
"Regnum Galliae, regnum Mariae": The kingdom of France is the kingdom of Mary, according to a phrase attributed to Pope Urban II (1088-1099). In the 20th century, his distant successor John XXIII added: "In the order of Providence, every nation has a mission, and sometimes a motto is enough to qualify it. When we say: 'Regnum Galliae, regnum Mariae,' we perfectly state the testimony of honor and love of the sons and many descendants of Clovis."
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