Our Lady, Star of the Sea

The route of prayer

Many legends have grown up around the statue over the centuries. One is that the statue once indicated the route of prayer when the participants in a nocturnal procession had lost their way.
Even today, every saturday after evening Mass, a group of believers follow this same route, praying the Rosary.

The legend of the route of prayer
After the Franciscans had been exiled again, they might come back after 35 years. Their convent was entirely demolished and the statue of the Star of the Sea was in the convent of the Franciscans in Hasselt. But the citizens of Maastricht thought that the Star of the Sea had to be in their city and the fathers were glad to bring it back of course. When they were ready with their new convent the statue came in there. But...because the statue had been away for such a long time, nobody remembered the streets through which one held the route of prayer in former days! Even the fathers and the other clergymen didn't know any more.
One evening in december an old woman, named mother Anna, was praying to the Star of the Sea. "Mary, Star of the Sea, indicate to us please the route of prayer again." When she almost had finished her rosary, mother Anna saw the statue moving slowly. It came from the altar and walked through the midship and out of the church! Mother Anna was old indeed, but she didn't know how fast she had to run out of the church to look where the Star of the Sea was going. The weather was bad. It was snowing and it was very cold. But she didn't mind! She went after the Star of the Sea, who she could see very well in the dark, because the statue radiated a light. She saw it walking through the Bouillonstreet, through the Papestreet and the Breestreet and again to the church of Our Lady. There the Star of the Sea kneeled and prayed for a moment. Then further She went. Through the Cortestreet, Witkemerstreet, Kepoenstreet, Linkelestreet and to the church of the Franciscans.
Mother Anna went to tell everywhere and everybody what she saw, and everybody who heard it, went to the church of the Franciscans. Also the clergymen came to look, because not everybody believed just like that what mother Anna told them.
But what did they see, when they enlightened the candles near the statue? The robe of Our Lady was still full of snow and the bottom of the robe, which had been dragging over the pavement, was wet and dirty.
In this way the Star of the Sea Herself indicated to the people their old route of prayer again.