Sunday, April 17, 2016

The Vow of Louis XIII

Ingres' painting of the "Vow" of Louis XIII in 1637. Every year on the Assumption the king would lead a procession in honor of Our Lady in which he would place France under her protection. Here is the Vow:
We have declared and declare that, in taking the very holy and glorious Virgin as the special protector of our Kingdom, we dedicated to her ourselves, our state, our Crown and our subjects, pleading her to inspire in us very holy behaviour and to defend this kingdom against the efforts of all its enemies, with great care, whether it may suffer under the scourge of war, or enjoy the sweetness of peace that we are asking God to deliver us with all our hears, there are no paths of grace that do not lead to paths of glory.
The Virgin of Charles X
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