The Veil of Mary still visible in France today

The Veil of Mary

King Charles the Bald gave the veil to the Chartres Cathedral in 876. His grandfather, Charlemagne, had received it as a gift from the Byzantine Empress Irene. When tested in the twentieth century, the cloth was shown to contain pollen from first century Palestine. This piece of cloth is closely tied to the history of both Chartres Cathedral and the town of Chartres.

In The Veil of Our Lady, French author Yves Delaporte explains that, “during the siege of Chartres by the Normands in 911 the relic acquired its notoriety and entered into history…” The bishop, in view of the combatants, displayed the tunic of the Virgin Mary to the townspeople. When…