Posted on 06/03/2017 5:27:48 AM PDT by NYer
A mysterious imaginary line links seven monasteries, from Ireland to Israel. Is it just a coincidence? These seven sanctuaries are very far from each other, and yet they are perfectly aligned (siviaggia.it).
The Sacred Line of Saint Michael the Archangel represents, according to legend, the blow the Saint inflicted the Devil, sending him to hell.
In any case, it is surprising how well these sanctuaries are, in fact, aligned. But the details of such alignment are also astonishing: the three most important sites, Mont Saint Michel in France; the Sacra of San Miguel in Val de Susa; and the Sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo in the Gargano are all the same distance one from the other. Some say this is a reminder from the Holy Archangel: the faithful are expected to be righteous, walking the straight path.
If all this was not surprising enough, the Sacred Line also is perfectly aligned with the sunset on the day of the Northern Hemisphere’s Summer Solstice (www.viagginews.com).
The line begins in Ireland, on a desert island, where Archangel Michael would have appeared to Saint Patrick, to help him liberate that country from the devil. Here stands the first monastery of the line, that of Skellig Michael, Michael’s Rock. Fans of the latest Star Wars installments will recognize this site.
The line then heads south and stops in England on St. Michael’s Mount, a Cornish islet which, at low tide, joins the mainland. Here, St. Michael is said to have spoken to a group of fishermen.
The sacred line then goes on to France, on another famous island, in Mont Saint-Michel, also one of the places in which St. Michael has appeared. The beauty of this sanctuary and the bay in which it is located, off the coast of Normandy, makes it one of the most visited tourist sites in all of France, and it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Since the times of the Gauls, this place has been considered mystical. In 709, the Archangel appeared to Saint Aubert, urging him to build a church in the rock. The works began immediately, but the Benedictine abbey was not fully built until the year 900.
The Sacra di San Michele, the symbol of the Italian region of Piedmont, stands in the dawn. In the background are visible mountains of the Val di Susa.
About 1000 kilometers away, in Val de Susa, the fourth sanctuary arises: the Sacra di San Michele. The very same straight line links this sacred place to the rest of the monasteries dedicated to Saint Michael. The construction of the abbey began around the year 1000 and, throughout the centuries, new structures have been added to the original building. The Benedictine monks also added an inn, because this holy place was on the way of the pilgrims that traveled through the Via Francigena.
Public Domain
Moving another thousand kilometers in a straight line, one reaches Puglia, where an inaccessible cavern has become a sacred place: the Sanctuary of Saint Michael. Its story goes back to the year 490, when St. Michael appeared to San Lorenzo Maiorano.
De Aw58 - Trabajo propio, CC BY-SA 3.0
From Italy, the archangel’s footprints reach the sixth sanctuary. This one is in Greece, on the island of Symi. This monastery houses a three-meter-high statue of the Archangel, one of the largest in the world.
Richard Sevcik | Shutterstock
The Sacred Line ends in Israel, at Mount Carmel Monastery, in Haifa. This place has been revered since antiquity, and its construction as a Christian and Catholic sanctuary dates back to the 12th century.
Catholic ping!
Coincidentally, there are hundreds of sanctuaries between those two end points that aren’t on the line.
Very nice photos and history.
We visited the one in Cornwall last September. Amazing place. We didn’t pay the extra money or climb the extra stairs to go to the monastery. The view was good from the lower circles. Sort of a tourist trap but since it was off season, not too crowded. On the day we were there with our younger son, he got a text from a friend who was at the one in France.
What happens when the concept of map projection distortion meets religious fervor?
As I get older I am believing less and less in coincidences.
Things happen for a reason.
Bookmark later read
Bookmark later read
btt
Bookmarking; intriguing info!
What a fun idea.
These are St Michael’s footprints for his run-up, as he toe-punts the evil one up the backside.
He shoots, he scores!
Fascinating, especially given the various times they were built.
Exactly. These venerable sites are not even close to lying on a single great circle route. Furthermore, the claim about sunset at the summer solstice is geographically impossible. Moderns, flattering themselves as scientific, usually are completely innocent of any grasp of seasonal earth orientation.
That's a quite unfair observation to make. You're only using facts that support your position. I'll bet you never clapped in Peter Pan to save Tinkerbelle either.
BB - Well said!
This is a fascinating article along with gorgeous locations.
They are gorgeous locations. I regret I will never be able to see them in person.
St. Michael the Archangel
~ PRAYER ~
St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+
Haha I was thinking the same thing. But then I realized that these are all sites dedicated to the Archangel Michael, each built centuries apart from each other, thus with no obvious means of coordination.
As to the issue of this not really being a straight line since this is only a straight line on a Mercator projection, I don't have a globe so I can't be sure but to me it seems even on a sphere this might be a line, although an arc at any rate, still a continuous line from the first to the last. It wouldn't be a serpentine pattern in other words.
Even if the line on a globe isn't perfectly straight though, it's still amazing that on a Mercator projection it is a straight line. So there's that.
Amen!
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