Tradition: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternative Names: Der Pastor von Nennig
Category: Ghost
The Myth
The Pastor of Nennig is the ghost of an elderly priest who appears to a young boy tending cattle near the village of Nennig. The apparition sits in a tree where the first branches begin to spread from the trunk. Dressed in priestly vestments and holding a missal, the old man appears to murmur a prayer while gazing pleadingly at the boy. For six weeks, the boy sees the same apparition without telling anyone, until fear finally drives him to confess the matter to his spiritual father.
Following his confessor’s advice, the boy approaches the priestly apparition and asks what he wants. The ghost reveals that he was the penultimate pastor of Nennig and that he still owes the Virgin Mary a Mass. The boy, who was the priest’s last baptismal candidate, is the only person who can release him. The priest instructs him to pray the Ave Maria, make a pilgrimage to Luxembourg, and offer a consecrated candle at the high altar in honour of the Queen of Heaven.
The devout boy undertakes the pilgrimage accompanied by many other worshippers. At the Church of Our Lady in Luxembourg, he walks three times around the high altar in silent prayer and places the consecrated candle on its steps. He then declares that the priest has been released. The elderly ghost, who has accompanied the pilgrims throughout their journey, rises towards heaven. However, the boy is so deeply affected by these events that his health deteriorates, and he soon dies. According to the legend, the priest had been praying after him, calling him to follow into death. The tale reflects a local belief that the dead can summon the people they loved most in life to join them in the afterlife.
Sources
La Fontaine, Edmond de. Luxemburger Sagen und Legenden. Gesammelt und herausgegeben von Ed. de la Fontaine. Luxemburg: Jos. Beffort, 1882.