Thann, Alsace, France — 1161
Three lights in the sky
- Three lights or luminous objects were observed by the Lord of Engelburg over the village of Thann, in Alsace, in 1161. A servant of Ubald, bishop of Ombrie, had stolen a relic from the Saint’s body, hiding it in his walking stick, which he planted in the ground next to a pine tree. Three aerial lights were seen coming over the top of the tree. The next morning the servant found his stick immobilized and was unable to pick it up. This impressed people so much that they built a chapel to commemorate the ‘miracle.’ Each year in Thann, on the 30 of June, three fir-trees (in reference to the three lights) are cremated in front of the main church in celebration of this foundation legend. The celebration is known as the “cremation des trois sapins” and still occurs today. th
Source: Johannes Andreas Schenck, Sanctus Theobaldus (Freiburg, 1628). Case: W048