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The War That Will End War

Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, British author H.G. Wells wrote a series of essays that were published as “The War That Will End War.” The ferocity of the battles that ensued, and the pure destructive power of the new battlefield technologies cemented this idea in the public conscience – after WWI, the powers that be would no longer have any appetite for warfare. So much for that notion – it was a mere 20 years later that Germany invaded Poland, starting the Second World War.

The First World War has no surviving veterans – I was in Paris when the last French WWI vet Lazare Ponticelli died in March 2008. Flags were at half mast all over the city – of all the countries in Europe, France was more devastated than any other by the First World War – the scars run deep. I remember as a child in the 1970’s that there were several WWI veterans on my paper route in North Vancouver – several that I knew of anyway. They were the ones missing a leg, or both legs, or an arm. Some of them would visit our elementary school for our Remembrance Day assemblies, and we would see them at the cenotaph on November 11. I knew I was to respect them, and that I was to be thankful for their service. In my child’s mind, in my comfortable home, in my peaceful country, I couldn’t really fathom what their service entailed.

Canadia Troops World War 1

Canadian troops go “over the top” at Vimy Ridge

As a teacher and a tour guide, I have visited World War I sites throughout Europe, mostly in France and Belgium. Though I certainly have no claim to understanding the experiences of the soldiers in that war, these pilgrimages have helped me to better recognize and respect them. The battlefields, museums, and monuments at Verdun in Eastern France, Vimy Ridge in Northern France, and Ypres in Belgium are solemn places where we can reflect on the sacrifices of past generations. They do not glorify war, nor do they celebrate the victory of one side over another – instead they bring us into the experiences of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary circumstances – they put human faces on the statistics, and they implore us not to make the same mistakes again.

German Soldiers in Gas Masks

German soldiers and their mule all sporting gas masks as they prepare to go into battle at Verdun.

Of all these sites, the In Flanders Fields museum in Ypres personalizes the First World War in a profound way, bringing the events of 100 years ago to the present generation. When you enter the museum, you are given a small wristband which you use to sign in – it gives you the identity of a real person from the war era – soldier, nurse, farmer, etc. – and you take that identity with you through the interactive displays, finding out how that person’s life was affected by the war as it raged from 1914 to 1918. Through a combination of relics from the war and modern technology, the In Flanders Fields museum has succeeded in insuring this century old event will not be forgotten, at least not by those who visit. The most profound aspect of a visit here is the way that the personal stories are shared.

Ypres Cloth Hall

The medieval Ypres Cloth Hall – destroyed by relentless shelling in the First World War.

 

Flanders Fields Museum

The Ypres Cloth Hall today – containing the excellent In Flanders Fields Museum.

 

Lazare Ponticelli, through his long life, often obliged when people asked him to share his personal story. As a boy of 16, Ponticelli signed up to fight the enemy of his newly adopted country (he was originally from Italy). He recalled that during extended periods of artillery fire, the young men waiting in the trenches would say to each other, “If I die, you’ll remember me, won’t you?”, as though their chief concern wasn’t their own impending doom, but the idea that they would be obliterated from history – forgotten. He seemed to understand that the men in the other trenches felt the same way. He recalled tripping over an injured German soldier in the dark, who then fully expected to be killed, but in a move of desperation, held up two fingers to Ponticelli, which he took to understand he had two children. Ponticelli did not pull the trigger, but took him prisoner instead. As a centenarian, he showed no interest in labelling anyone his enemy. He said he did not understand why on earth he, or they, had been fighting. “You shoot at men who are fathers. War is completely stupid.” Was H.G. Wells displaying some grand naiveté when he wrote “The War That Will End War”? Perhaps. Or maybe his thoughts were a call to future generations – a hope that eventually, we will learn something profound from the experiences of men like Lazare Ponticelli.

Lazare Ponticelli

Lazare Ponticelli at age 106 – 90 years after he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion at the start of the First World War.

Is the Blood of Christ in Europe?

Relics have long been part of many religious traditions, and indeed Europe is brimming with churches and cathedrals built to venerate literally thousands of these precious remnants of martyrs and saints.  In Bruges, Belgium, there is a relic sacred above all others – a vial containing what many believe to be a cloth stained with the blood of Jesus Christ.  How did it get there?

Thierry of Alsace Holy Blood

Thierry of Alsace presents the vial with the Holy Blood to the people of Bruges

basilica of holy blood inside

The brightly painted interior of the basilica

According to the Apocryphal Gospels, Joseph of Arimathea had preserved the cloth with the Precious Blood after he washed the dead body of Christ.  The story is that in 1150, Thierry of Alsace, the Count of Flanders, returned to Bruges with the vial – a gift that had been given to him by the king of Jerusalem during the 2nd Crusade.  The private chapel of the count was expanded to properly house this sacred relic and allow visitations, which continue to this day in the Basilica of the Holy Blood.  During the Middle Ages, the relic was apparently responsible for dozens of miracles, and perhaps most miraculously the blood was said to change from dried to liquid form every Easter.

Because of the importance of the relic, the city decided long ago to celebrate it in a very public way – every Ascension Day (May 5 in 2016) since the Middle Ages Bruges hosts the Procession of the Holy Blood.  The Relic is placed in a grand reliquary, and paraded around the city with clergy and laypeople alike dressed in fine medieval costumes.

Holy Blood Procession

The Procession of the Holy Blood takes place every Ascension Day

If you can’t be there on Ascension Day, no need to worry – you can visit the relic in the basilica.   The church itself is quite impressive – the original dark romanesque chapel on the ground floor remains, stark and usually empty, with stairs leading up to the expanded gothic upper chapel.  The inside of the upper chapel is vibrantly painted.  Interestingly, most of the gothic churches in Europe were painted to begin with, but time has worn away the colours and left us with the familiar grey stone.  But here in Bruges, you can experience the inside of a gothic church the way the original designers intended, bathed in vivid hues.  The relic itself is kept in a side chapel – when you enter just walk straight along the back of the main chapel and you’ll see the reliquary on a raised platform with stairs leading up one side and down the other.

So is this really the blood of Christ?  I don’t know if it really matters…  Whether you are religious or not, allow yourself to be enthralled by this most sacred of relics in this most beautiful of Belgian cities!

For the modern visitor, the Basilica is open 9:30 am – 12:00 pm and 2:00 – 5:00 pm most days – though sometimes access to the upper chapel (where the vial is usually on display) is closed as they have regular church services there.  Best thing to do is check in the morning.

Contact the Basilica of the Holy Blood: www.holyblood.com Burg 13, 8000 Brugge, Belgium+32 50 33 67 92

Holy Blood Basilica

The rather small entrance to the basilica on the Burg Square with entrances to both the romanesque ground floor chapel and the gothic upper chapel.

OneLife Tours is dedicated to the absolute best in European travel experiences.  Both our Grand Tour of Europe  and our Ultimate Beer Tour start in Bruges, and a guided visit to the Basilica of the Holy Blood is of course one of the many highlights of our stay there.  Contact our chief tour director Craig Bresett for more information.

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/506116251454697472/4blfsXiS.jpeg[/author_image] [author_info]This blog reverently shared with you by Craig Bresett (enjoying a Brugse Zot at this very moment) – owner and chief tour director at OneLife Tours. Contact Craig anytime: craig@onelifetours.ca[/author_info] [/author]