Monday, Apr. 19, 2010
The Tunic of the Blessed Virgin
While France's Chartres Cathedral is one of the nation's finest examples of gothic architecture, that isn't the only reason pilgrims flock there each year. The cathedral is also home to a tunic said to have been worn by the Virgin Mary during the birth of Christ. The tunic, or Sancta Camisia, said to have been given to the church in 876, was thought to have been destroyed in a fire in 1194. Three days later it was found miraculously unharmed in the treasury, which the bishop claimed was a sign from Mary herself that another, more magnificent, cathedral should be built in its place.