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"Prayer at Sainte Anne d'Auray" by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1869 A.D.)

"... Pope Gregory XIII ordered the celebration of the Feast on July 26 throughout the whole Church, with the rite of a double. Pope Leo XIII in 1879 raised it, together with that of St. Joachim, to the dignity of a solemnity of the II Class. But before that, Pope Gregory XV, after having been cured of a serious illness by St. Anne, had ranked her feast among those of precept, with the obligation of resting from servile work.

1921 Postcard of The Basilica of Sainte Anne d'Auray in Brittany

... St. Anne was receiving the homage due to her exalted dignity, she made haste to show her recognition of this more solemn tribute of praise. In the years 1623, 1624 and 1625, in the village of Kerouanne, near Auray, in Britanny, she appeared to Yves Nicolazic, and revealed to him an ancient statue buried in the field of Bocenno, which he tenanted. This discovery brought the people once more to the place where, a thousand years before, the inhabitants of ancient Armorica had honored that statue. Innumerable graces obtained on the spot spread its fame far beyond the limits of the Province, whose faith, worthy of past ages, had merited the favor of the grandmother of the Messias; and St. Anne d'Auray was soon so renowned as to be among the chief pilgrimage destinations of the Christian world. ...

O Blessed Anne, rescue society, which is perishing for want of virtues like thine. Bless especially thy faithful Brittany; have pity on unhappy France, for which thou hast shown thy predilection. O thou who lovest the Franks, who deignest still to look on fallen Gaul as the kingdom of Mary, continue to show it that love which is its most cherished tradition. Mayest thou become known throughout the whole world. As for us, who have long known thy power and experienced thy goodness, let us ever seek in thee, O mother, our rest, security, strength in every trial; for he who leans on thee has nothing to fear on earth, and he who rests in thy arms is safely carried."

(Adapted from: "The Liturgical Year - Time after Pentecost", Volume IV, Dublin, Edition 1901 A.D.)

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