prominent medieval shrine to Mary is located at Chartres, an old
French city surrounded by fertile farm country about 50 miles
southwest of Paris. In an ancient crypt under the magnificent
12th century cathedral, medieval pilgrims honored a prized relic
of Mary -- her tunic -- which tradition said had been brought to
Europe from the east by Charlemagne in the 8th century. There,
too, pilgrims reverenced a holy well, traditionally the burial
site of the region's early Christian martyrs. From all of
Europe, people came to Chartres to be healed and to be renewed
in their faith. The great cathedral, with its vast treasury of
sculpture and stained glass illustrating the Old and New
Testaments, is a visual catechism welcoming all her enter the
massive doors. Like Mary, modern pilgrims are invited to
remember and to ponder the great things God has done for his
people. In this century, thousands of Christian young people
from the universities of France participate each August in a
student pilgrimage to the shrine of