I have to come back to the Madonna...

By José Blanco








On our visit to Brugge, Dec 6th. '08, we inadvertently walked into The Church of Our Lady. From the street level it was just another entrance...a building into which flocks of tourists were entering, and so, we followed. I had mentioned previously that tourists were gathered around an altar, looking at something, which called my attention and I grabbed Sherry's hand and started leading us there. My surprise when I saw this...
I started taking more photos, from multiple angles, positioning my camera against the railing, so that it would not shake and thus blur the image. I wanted to know more about what I was seeing, for I had a sense that this was important. I needed to hear a tour guide, someone that would put words to what I was seeing!

A huge easel had a description in multiple languages, and waiting patiently as other tourists occupied the space in front of it, I took various shots to capture the 
narrative. This work dates back to 1504 - 5! It is the work of Michaelangelo Buonarroti, and it is done in Carrara marble. It is the most important work in the church, "the most celebrated art treasure of the church", quotes Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Our_Lady,_Bruges 

Two local merchants - Jan and Alexander Mouscron - acquired the sculpture and brought it to Brugge centuries ago, in 1514. 

As I kept on looking at it, Sherry suggested I take a photo near the candles at the foot of the altar: candles burning for the intentions of those that came earlier and made an offering, lighting one or more.

That was a good idea, I replied to Sherry,  "definitely!", and this is what came out. A view of the Madonna thru the intentions and petitions of so many that recurred to Her, hopeful, maybe pleading for Her intercession and care. 
After a while, we walked away into the church main, and came across a couple of tombs within the church: the tombs of the last "Valois, Duke of Burgundy and that of his daughter, the duchess Mary."  The link above provides further reference to that information.

  After some photos of the church main, it was time to leave and celebrate being able to chat openly - not whispering in each other's ear as we had done so much inside the church - over what we had just experienced. Coming out into the surrounding streets, I was amazed when I looked up, at the size of the tower under which we had just spent some time. It is the second tallest brickwork tower in the world...amazing!
Somehow thoughts of the historical and cultural grandiosity of the spaces we were in invaded us: chills were making us shiver. They were not only the cold rain...it was more than that.

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