March 14th 1479, a still-born child in Poperinge was exhumed after 3 days and brought back to life through Our Lady of St John’s Church. After being baptised, it died again. This miracle, due to Our Lady of St. John, provoked in this hop town a true worship of the Virgin Mary. Hardly two years later, the miracle was confirmed by a papal bull in 1481. This worship has been deep-rooted in the Poperinge population for more than 500 years.