This is designed after the original "The Miraculous Medal" or the "Medal of the Immaculate Conception"by Saint Catherine Laboure who was guided by visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary herself!
photo via Hoarder Rehab, see original listing here
This might seem like a common themed medal, only because it;s been in production for 183 years! It was first made by goldsmith Adrien Vachette, in 1832, two years after Saint Catherine Laboure's visions.
Information I find Interesting About The Miraculous Medal:
1. Properly named, "The Miraculous Medal" or the "Medal of the Immaculate Conception" is a medal originally designed by Saint Catherine Labouré following her reported vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This vision returned to her every evening during meditation.
2. Ever wonder about the date of 1830?
The exact date of Saint Catherine Labouré vision was the night of July 18, 1830, she awoke upon hearing a voice of a child calling her to the sisters' chapel located in the Rue du Bac, Paris, France, where she heard the Blessed Virgin Mary say to her, "God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world."
3. Four months later the vision returned to her every evening during her meditations. Her vision is as follows:
The Blessed Mother displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe, wearing many "rings" of different colors, most of which shone rays of light over the globe.
Around the margin of the frame appeared the words Ô Marie, conçue sans péché, priez pour nous qui avons recours à vous ("O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee") starting from her right hand and ending at her left.
This is the traditional design of the Miraculous Medal in it's oval shape as St. Laboure envisioned with Mary standing on the globe, a sign to end evil in France and the rest of the world. A tiny sterling version is available here at The Destiny of Things.
4. Ever wonder about the exact number of 12 stars? the M cross? and the two different sacred hearts on the back?
In her vision, the frame seemed to rotate, showing a circle of twelve stars, a large letter M surmounted by a cross, and the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus crowned with thorns and Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced with a sword.
5. This is the SUPER interesting!
Asked why some of her "rings" did not shed light, Mary reportedly replied, "Those are the graces for which people forget to ask."
Are you wondering about the rings now?
Did the rays of light come from the diamond rings Mary wore! Yes, three on each finger!
According to her own hand the medal should also have half a globe upon which Mary's feet rest, hands raised up to her waist, fingers filled with diamond rings of different sizes giving off rays of light, and a frame slightly oval with golden letters saying, "O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!" She also added that some of the diamonds did not give off rays. Her fingers each had three rings and the largest stones emitted the most brilliant rays.
[Aladel, M. (1999). The Miraculous Medal. Albany, New York: Preserving Christian Publications, Inc.. pp. 49-51]
Photo via The Destiny of Things, back side of traditional version. A tiny sterling version is available here at The Destiny of Things.
More information I found interesting:
1. The back of the medallion has the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced with a sword. The twelve stars are from her vision, but I've also read it symbolizes the 12 apostles.
2. Catherine then heard Mary ask her to take these images to her father confessor, telling him that they should be put on medallions, and saying "All who wear them will receive great graces."-Catholic Encyclopedia: Miraculous Medal
[McMenamin, M. 2010. Precisely dated early versions of the Miraculous Medal. Numismatics International Bulletin, v. 45, nos. 3/4, p. 43-48.]
[Mack, John (2003). The museum of the mind: art and memory in world cultures. British Museum.]
4. One of the most remarkable facts recorded in connection with the Miraculous Medal is the conversion of a Jew, Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne of Strasburg, who had resisted the appeals of a friend to enter the Church. Alphonse Ratisbonne consented, somewhat reluctantly, to wear the medal, and being in Rome, he entered, by chance, the church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte and beheld in a vision the Blessed Virgin Mary exactly as she is represented on the medal; his conversion speedily followed.
[Glass, Joseph, "Miraculous Medal". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. Accessed 2011-05-20.]
Above variation, SOLD OUT, a different HVM version, here
5. Pope John Paul II used a slight variation of the reverse image as his coat of arms, the Marian Cross, a plain cross with an M underneath the right-hand bar (which signified the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross when Jesus was being crucified).
6. The chapel in which Saint Catherine experienced her visions is located at the mother house of the Daughters of Charity in Paris. The incorrupt bodies of Saint Catherine Labouré and Saint Louise de Marillac, a co-founder of the Daughters of Charity, are interred in the chapel, which continues to receive daily visits from Catholic pilgrims today.
Incorrupt!!!! The MOST interesting!!!! After 57 years of being buried in the ground, her body was exhumed and is said to have remained incorrupt and supple! Catherine Laboure is still lying in state at the right of the altar in the chapel Rue du Bac 140, in Paris and she still looks as though she only died yesterday! That's a Ripley's, "Believe it or not!"
See a pic and more info at Saint Catherine Laboure, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
Let me know what you think or if you've been to the chapel in Paris and seen her yourself! I'm so curious about it!
Another version of HansVilhelm Hansen, available here
Saying Good-bye: The Hans Vilhelm Hansen or HVM Miraculous Medal was let go easily. As I mentioned before, it's not the sterling religious medals I'm attracted to, but the aluminum and plastic ones, especially the blue plastic. And the tiny blue enameled ones. Also the aluminum ones I have in sets of 10 or more.
Back to the topic at hand, The HVH medal went to a collector who is making a spiritual necklace! So far she has Madonna, Buddha, Crosses, lotus flowers and praying hands. She may add a "namaste" and Miraculous Medal charm!
I hope she sends me a pic of her wearing the necklace when it's complete! How "destiny as infinity" would that be?
UPDATE!!! Sat19Jan2013: I am so thrilled, KV sent me pics of her spiritual charm necklace! I love the diversity and colors! Thank you for going over and beyond and sending me pis as well as letting me share your story! I love it!
What I Learned:
1. My religious medal collection is as extensive as my cross collection, which stems from my Mexican Folk Art collection (most of it sold last Oct for Day of the Dead holiday) to Religious Mexican Folk Art collection to Religious Folk Art from around the world. Lastly, I made my own Religious Folk Art. (Some of it is at the link and the rest if still buried in the unknown boxes of hoard!)
Back then each of my art series lasted for about 2 years and then it changed to something else. I did this unwittingly and unknowingly and just kept my destash in boxes! My last two year art stint was quilting! Yikes! I have/had an ever growing textile collection! Then I started moving every 2-3 years and lost track of everything!
So I guess my new art series for the next two years is "The Art of Hoarding Without Hoarding!" I did start a post with that title on 1/7/2013, so let's see if I can turn hoarding into art! Silly funny, ha-ha-ha
Thank you KV for sharing your story with me and for surprising me with some pic updates of your spiritual necklace. You made my day! and your/my/our HVH medal looks like it's in good company with other one of a kind uniqueness. I like how you used a spring clasp, so it can be easily rearranged!
Thank you for making my "destiny as infinity" come true!
Thank you readers from US, Germany, Cypress, South Korea, Canada, UK, Italy, Trinidad and Tobago! Welcome readers from Lithuania and Philippines! Thank you for taking part in HoarderRehab: The Destiny of Things!
Parting Thoughts: I finally got some "crash" sleep, but it's like I was awake today, but not really awake! It seems to happen to me a lot. It's like a 50/50 chance that "crash" sleep isn't really doing me any good! I didn't get anything done today, except kinda write this, la-dee-da around the net, and cruise around etsy. It felt like driving around in circles and being too zoned out to care about it. As a matter of fact, I feel like I'm just starting to wake up now, which is 5:53 pm California time. Any other insomniacs feel like that when they finally get some "crash" sleep?
Love this - so informative, I have pics of my charms - if you would like. Katherine
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