Stille Omgang
Encyclopedia
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in the 16th century. The biggest and best known is the Stille Omgang of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, which is still performed every year in March.
This procession
Procession
A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...
commemorates the Miracle of the Host of 15 March 1345, a miracle
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
which involved a dying man vomiting upon being given the Holy Sacrament and last rites
Last Rites
The Last Rites are the very last prayers and ministrations given to many Christians before death. The last rites go by various names and include different practices in different Christian traditions...
. The Host was then put in the fire, but miraculously remained intact and could be retrieved from the fire in one piece without the heat burning the hand of the person that retrieved it. This miracle
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
was officially recognised by the Roman Catholic Church, and a large pilgrimage chapel, the Heilige Stede
Heilige Stede
Nieuwezijds Kapel, or Heilige Stede or Chapel of the Heilige Stede refers to a site in Amsterdam that includes shops and a Dutch Reformed church built in 1908 on the site of a church once called the Heilige Stede, originally built in the 15th century to replace a chapel that burned in a city fire...
or Holy Site, was built where the house had stood, and the Heiligeweg
Heiligeweg
The Heiligeweg is the street in Amsterdam that used to lead from the Kapel ter Heilige Stede to the Kalverstraat...
(Holy Way) as a pilgrimage route to it.
The Stille Omgang fell out of practice at the beginning of the 19th century, but was revived in 1881. About 8,000 Catholics, and also some non-Catholics, from all over the Netherlands take part in it, after first having joined a mass in one of Amsterdam's churches. The procession always occurs on the night of Saturday to Sunday following the start of the 'Mirakelfeest', which is on the first Wednesday after 12 March.