OstensionsOstensions
©Ostensions|Sébastien Bayle, Vincent Bayle, Limouzinproject
The Ostensions LimousinesListed as a UNESCO intangible heritage site

Les Ostensions Limousines

An unmissable event that takes place every 7 years in Haute-Vienne, and brings together thousands of people: the Ostensions Limousines! In 2023, the Ostensions are back, and if you’ve never heard of this religious ceremony, we’ll explain it all in this article 👇🏼

According to UNESCO, the Limousin ostensions are “grandiose ceremonies and processions organized every 7 years for the exposition and veneration of relics of Catholic saints preserved in the churches of the Limousin.

Largely supported by local towns and villages, the festivities attract large numbers of people who gather to see the reliquaries paraded through the towns accompanied by flags, banners, decorations and costumed historical figures.

The septennial ostensions belong to the entire population of Limousin, and both Christian and non-Christian residents consider themselves to be the holders of the tradition. The brotherhoods and committees are actively involved in passing on (both orally and in writing) the knowledge, skills and objects associated with this practice.

The 19 sites concerned by this registration are located in a territory that is historically linked to the Limousin, today extending over four French departments: Haute-Vienne, Creuse, Charente and Vienne.

In 2009, ostensions took place in Haute-Vienne, Creuse, Charente and Charroux in Vienne.

History

The Ostensions are a thousand-year-old religious ceremony unique to the diocese of Limoges.

Originally celebrated occasionally on the occasion of special events or circumstances, the custom was established in 1518 of making them septennial.

Interrupted in 1547, due to the plague, and in 1799, when all gold, silver and copper objects of worship in the churches were donated to the Convention in November 1793, they were resumed in 1806, following official recognition of the relics piously preserved by private individuals.

The relics of Limousin saints are displayed in churches for the veneration of the faithful. Religious and historical processions solemnly carry caskets and reliquaries, often ancient works of art, along the streets of the cities where the Ostensions take place.

The first Ostension took place on November 12, 994, at a time when the terrible “mal des ardents” was raging. During a council meeting in Limoges, attended by William the Great, Duke of Aquitaine, Bishop Hilduin, Abbot Geoffroy, the bishops and abbots of Aquitaine with their relics, and the lords, the remains of Saint Martial, the first bishop, were “lifted” and transported to a hill overlooking the city, amidst a great gathering of people, and the epidemic ceased. The hill was named Mont-de-la-Joie (Mons Gaudii), Montjauvy, now Montjovis.

On this occasion, the Trêve de Dieu (Truce of God) was proclaimed and, a few years later, the Limousin clergy anathematized lords who failed to respect God’s peace towards the weak and the poor.

The brotherhoods

Brotherhoods or, if they don’t exist, committees, organize and lead ostentionary events:

  • Grande confrérie de saint Martial, founded in 1356,
  • Confrérie de saint Aurélien, founded shortly after 1315 by the Butchers’ Guild, which, according to tradition, had existed since 930,
  • Confrérie de saint Loup, founded in 1153,
  • Confrérie des porteurs de la châsse de saint Martial,
  • Confrérie de saint Eloi in Chaptelat,
  • Confrérie des saints Israël et Théobald in Le Dorat, founded in 1659,
  • Confrérie de saint Léonard, 1358,
  • Confrérie de saint Maximin in Magnac-Laval,
  • Confrérie de saint Etienne in Esse,
  • Confrérie de sainte Valérie à Limoges,
  • Confrérie de saint Côme et saint Damien des professionnels de la santé in Pierre-Buffière,
  • Confrérie de sainte Lucine et Emerite in Ambazac.

Witness to a secular faith, the Ostensions have a profound religious meaning and identity for the Limousins. In this powerful moment of communion with founding saints, the Limousin people reaffirm their faith today, in the joy of celebration.

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