Feast of the Assumption 1811 The“miracle” of Pius VII. On 15 August 1811 – the Feast of the Assumption – it is recorded that the pope celebrated Mass and was said to have entered a trance and began to levitate in a manner that drew him to the altar. This particular episode aroused great wonder and awe among attendants which included the French soldiers guarding him who were in disbelief of what had occurred
Is this where the tradition of holding onto the priest's chasuble during the consecration comes from in the TLM, or was that already a practice before this happened?
Pope Pius VII was the Pope who excommunicated Napoleon Bonaparte. At the time if this levitation he was actually under house arrest by the French. I wonder if the French soldiers present reported this supernatural event to their boss Napoleon?
Pope Pius VII must have been a very holy man. Napoleon later confided to one of his grnerals that the reason he lost everything and landed on St Helena in exile was because he had "struck" the pope. Apparently there is an old proverb " "he who strikes the pope dies" and Napoleon lamented that he hadn't known this. (According to Malachi Martin)
Compare that to what's happening in way too many parishes today: Servant of God, Pius VII: look upon what is happening at the altars of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church and ask God, on our behalf, to restore all honour and rightful dignity to the Holy Sacrifice. m.
Pretty sure that arose for a very practical reason, namely the weight of the chasuble. Many of these by and large practical things would of course be given a spiritual meaning.
