The miracles of the Grensmaasvallei

In 1970, the town of Stein was overrun by hundreds of pilgrims after a true miracle occurred. That miracle happened to Bertha Meulenberg, a rheumatism sufferer. Inspired by Therese Neumann - a German mystic, to whom visions of Christ appeared one Good Friday - over a period of nine days she went into devotions. On the fourth day, she heard the sound of knocking and in the days that followed received instructions from Neumann to build a chapel. Against all medical expectations, on the ninth day the rheumatism disappeared. When the chapel was being built in 1970, on the Good Friday of that year, her son witnessed ‘bleeding’ from a calvary in Huize Meulenberg. The drops of blood which trickled down the cross, didn’t fall on the ground. For years, pilgrims have been waiting for a new miracle to happen, but so far the cross has given nothing away. The chapel, known as Kapel van het Bitter Lijden (‘chapel of bitter suffering’), is open every day to visitors.

In 1866 a miracle took place which saved the life of a boarder at the Ursuline convent in Sittard. She had accidentally swallowed a needle during an embroidery class. The needle had got stuck in an inaccessible place in her throat. In an age where penicillin had not yet been discovered, infection and then death would be imminent. By invoking Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, she eventually coughed up the needle. To this day, the miracle still attracts many pilgrims to the Mariapark and the Basilica in Sittard.

At some point close to the darkest period of the year, the town of Beek celebrates the feast of St Lucia. This tradition, originating in Sweden, has been in existence here since 1952, with the intention of bringing townsfolk closer to their faith. Part of the festivities is given over to the election of a Lichtkoningin (‘queen of light’) and Hofdames (her female entourage). The Lichtkoningin is ‘crowned’ in the church on or around 13 December, the feast day of Saint Lucia, and she plays a prominent role in a procession of light, which is now combined with Carnival festivities.

The legend of Saint Lucia is nevertheless quite sinister. She lived around the third century AD during a time of Christian persecutions. When a pagan lover showed a romantic interest in her and complimented on her eyes, she gouged them out and sent them to him on a platter. The moral of the story: leave me in peace. Miraculously, she was still able to see.

When Joaness Houben from the village of Munstergeleen was deemed unsuitable for military service, he decided to enter a Belgian monastery. From that moment onwards he became known as Pater Karel (or ‘Father Charles’). In 1852 he went to work in England and Ireland, without being able to speak the language. His listening ear and healing hands drew increasingly many believers. He died in 1893, but 105 years later - in 1999 - a miracle occurred in his home village. Moments after doctors had told Dolf Dormans that he only had a few hours to live, he started praying to Pater Karel. He recovered from an apparently fatal bowel condition and survived for another 18 years. The canonisation of Pater Karel was set in motion and the committee in Rome unanimously concluded it was case that could not be explained by medical science and so was declared a miracle. Pater Karel was canonised in 2007.

The chapel dedicated to Maria at Schilberg wasn’t built without reason. Maria had requested it herself. The story goes that after praying one day, a shepherd saw a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary in a tree. Later he took it to the church, but the next day it had gone missing. The statue once again appeared to the shepherd. In other places it became known that Maria was expressing her desire to have a chapel built here. This miraculous happening resulted in the construction of the Chapel of Our Lady of Peys on this site in 1691. From that day onwards, people visiting the Schilberg could ask Maria for help and consolation.

There is a statue of the Virgin Mary in the chapel. The statue shows Maria with the Infant Jesus on her right arm. On her left arm is an opened book. The Infant is looking in the direction of the visitor and pointing with his finger to the text in the book, the opening lines of the Ave Maria.