The Onze Lieve-Vrouwekapel in Echt is a 17-century chapel in

Schilberg Rudolf Schilberg (29 September 1894 – 30 July 1961) was an Austrian male weightlifter, who competed in the heavyweight category and represented Austria at international competitions. He competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics and 1936 Summer Olym ...

, a hamlet between Pey and

Echt Echt may refer to: * Echt, Aberdeenshire, a village in Scotland * Echt-Susteren, a municipality in the Netherlands ** Echt, Netherlands Echt (; ) is a city in the Dutch municipality of Echt-Susteren in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. ...

in the Dutch province of Limburg. The chapel was declared a national monument. It is a pilgrimage site for the celebration of the Nativity of Mary.

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The brick chapel bears a plaque commemorating its construction in 1691. The

stained-glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows were replaced after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by Jacques Verheyen in 1947. The chapel also houses a 15th-century polychrome statue of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

, its patron. The

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

were also made by Verheyen in 1947, and are located on the outside of the chapel. A wooden crucifix from about 1700 is found on the chapel's exterior. In 1981, four small ''voetvallen'' ( field chapels) with

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

s were moved from various places in the town to the chapel square. They are numbered I, II, III and VII. Originally there were at least seven, but only four remain. These structures date back to 1670 and are included in the designation as a national monument. The reliefs depicting the

passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary M ...

are more recent.

Pilgrimage site

The Chapel is a pilgrimage site for the celebration of the

Octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

of the Nativity of Mary. Pope Gregory XVI authorized the celebration on November 14, 1834 and promised indulgence to the pilgrims who attended. In the 19th century, several thousand people were in attendance of the open-air mass. The celebration, known as the ''Octaaf van Schilberg'', is currently held in large tents next to the chapel. In 2015 a special mass to commemorate Saint

Edith Stein Edith Stein (religious name Saint Teresia Benedicta a Cruce ; also known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross or Saint Edith Stein; 12 October 1891 – 9 August 1942) was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a ...

was held in the context of the celebration. The Foundation ''Onze Lieve Vrouw van Schilberg'' (Our Lady of Schilberg) was created in 1962 to promote the devotion of its patron, mainly through the organization of the Octave, and to maintain the chapel.

References

* * *{{Commons-inline, Kapel O.L.Vrouw van Schilberg Churches in Limburg (Netherlands) Rijksmonuments in Limburg Catholic pilgrimage sites

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Pilgrimage site

See also

References