About The Franciscan Order of the Grey Penitnents (Pénitents Gris d’Avignon):
A penitent, as you probably know, is a person who feels or expresses deep remorse, sorrow, or contrition for wrongdoing or sins. The Grey Penitents were founded by King Louis VIII on September 14, 1226, in thanks for a successful campaign during the 1226 Siege of Avignon and as an act of reparation for outrages committed against the Blessed Sacrament by the Albigensians. The King himself put on a grey sack—the traditional habit of a penitent—to demonstrate his commitment.
The Eucharistic Miracle of Avignon:
This miracle is related to the Albigensian Heresy, which was promoted throughout Southern France. The Abligensians denied the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, as well as encouraging sexual promiscuity and denying the Sacraments. It was condemned by the Church in the 11th Century but managed to keep a hold on this area until well into the 13th Century.
In responding to this threat to the Eucharist, King Louis VIII (father of Saint Luis IX) built a church here to honor the Blessed Sacrament. On September 14th, 1226, Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross he made a public act of reparation for the sacrilege committed by the Albigenses. A procession of the Eucharist was made to the church and the King met them as they arrived, dressed in sack cloth, a rope around his waist, and a candle in his hand,
The Blessed Sacrament was exposed all that night and many days afterwards until the Bishop decided that the Blessed Sacrament should stay perpetually exposed. This custom was followed by his successors and approved by the Holy Father. The Church was in the care of the Grey Penitents of the Franciscan Order.
After about 200 years of perpetual adoration the miracle occurred: Avignon was subject to recurrent flooding, and on November 30, 1433 the flood was greater than usual, so great that it threatened not only the church floor but all the way up the altar and the monstrance where the Eucharistic was kept.
Concerned about the Eucharist in the tabernacle of the church, two of the friars had to take a boat to reach the church and were dismayed to see that the water had risen to about half way up the doors. Fearful of what they might find inside, they were shocked to discover that although the water rose up on walls on both sides of the aisle, the center was perfectly dry and the Eucharist un-touched. The friars reflected upon this as the read from the Bible to story of the parting of the Red Sea and likened it to that miracle.
Hundreds of people came to the church and witnessed the event that night.
This miracle was a profound confirmation of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, especially significant in context to the Albigensian heresy (a heresy that rejected Catholic sacraments, the incarnation of Christ, and marriage).
Traveling to Pénitents Gris d’Avignon / Chapelle Sainte Croix in Avignon, France:
Address: 8 Rue des Teinturiers, 84000 Avignon, France.
Click here for the official website of the Chapel of the Grey Penitnents (Franciscan Order), Avignon, France.