The Religious Sites of France

Do you believe in miracle?

For thousands of years, all these villages have shared their angelic stories in which simple folks were visited by apparitions of saints, angels or even the Virgin Mary.
Since the Middle ages, these religious sites have aroused the need for millions of pilgrims to walk thousands of miles to meditate on these faithful sanctuaries; from climbing 200 stairs on their knees to walking nearly 3 km in the water.

Though Religious Faith is not a requirement to feel the immense aura that breathes through these astonishing sites, it does add a cosmic dimension to this unforgettable visit.
All these sacred sites are listed as UNESCO heritage.

LOURDES – The Apparition of Mary

When it comes to Pilgrimage, Lourdes has aroused the most souls since 1858 when the Virgin Mary appeared 18 times in Massabielle’s cave in front of Bernadette Soubirous. Today, millions of people, driven by their faith, or their illness, walk through forests and mountains in the steps of a Saint, still praying for a miracle.

MONT SAINT MICHEL – The Blessing of an angel

Rising out of the mists and fog, this fairy-tale castle is a unique place that began with a church built on a massive granite rock by bishop Aubert in 709 as homage to Archangel Michael after the Saint had visited him.

Two centuries later, a community of Benedictine monks formed at the Mont and erected a Roman-style abbey. The site became a symbol of resistance against English invasions for centuries, which explains the surrounding walls. A gothic abbey would later erect on the rubbles of the old one, which served as a prison during the French revolution.

If you walk to this unique historic and religious site, do not ignore the tide for it rushes at 60 meter per minute…

VEZELAY – The Relics of Mary Magdalene

The monastery built on the hill hosted the relics that belonged to Mary Magdalene and has drawn pilgrims for 2,000 years to see the remains of one of the road companion of Jesus Christ. Pilgrimages came to a halt in 1279 when Mary’s remains were officially found in Provence.
500 years of religious wars followed by a revolution were not kind to the site of the Saint who witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion. But in the 1800s, a majestic roman–style basilica with unique sculpted stones was erected where the Saint has finally rested in peace.

This Unesco site welcomes millions every year.

ROCAMADOUR – Sanctuary of Saint Amadour

The announcement of a miracle in 1148 and the discovery of Saint Amadour’s intact body in 1166 made it a sacred village since the Middle-ages and has attracted pilgrims from across Europe, including Henri II of England, who traveled to thank the Virgin Mary. Perched on a 150-meter cliff overlooking the Dordogne River, it is the highest pilgrimage site in France.

Every year, hundred of thousands of people climb the 216 stairs of the Great Stairway on their knees that lead to the forecourt of the sanctuaries and the Basilica Saint-Sauveur. Notre Dame’s chapel is viewed as “the heart” of the village and hosts the statue of the black Virgin.

SAINTE-FOY DE CONQUES – A Christian Martyr

The abbey of Sainte-Foy de Conques, erected between 1045 and 1110 carefully preserves Sainte-Foy’s relics, a young gallo-roman Christian girl who was martyred in Agen during the 3^rd century. In the following centuries, an astonishing treasure was established around the statue of the Saint, covering her in gold and precious stones.

SAINTE BEAUME – Blessed by Mary Magdalene

First a geological curiosity and one of the most ancient pilgrimage site in the world where Mary Magdalene is believed to have spent 30 years of her life. Protected by the Dominicans and visited by Saint Louis in 1254, the Church and the Kingdom of Provence expanded the village and even built a hostelry to encourage more pilgrims to visit the Holy cave. A gothic basilica was erected in the 13^th century in the name of the Saint.

NOTRE DAME DE LA SALETTE – The Apparition of Mary

In 1846, a globe of light opened to two shepherd boys to reveal a woman seated on a stone with her head in her hands. This apparition of the Blessed Virgin in this village near Grenoble was ‘verified’ by the pope as a site of Faith where, at times, 3,000 pilgrims may pass through in a day.

CARCASSONNE – The Shroud of Christ

Built as a center for commerce on a Celt village in the first century BC, the Romans fortified the city with massive walls against invasions, still standing to this day surrounding St Michael’s cathedral.

Since the XIII century, the medieval town of Carcassonne has displayed a special cloth that may have been used to wrap the body of Jesus after his death: The Holy Shroud of Christ. According to legend, after a series of eleven miracles widely observed in 1403, Pope Benoit XIII and King Charles VI rendered both a holy and royal judgment ordering Augustine monks to protect the Holy Shroud.
But there is something else. A part of history the Catholic Church prefers to forget…
During the XI an XII century, a competing religion that rejected the pope’s authority and only recognized the New Testament was flourishing in the region: Catharism. Considered as heretics, Cathars were exterminated.

Their stronghold was Carcassonne.

NOTRE DAME DE PARIS – From Jupiter to Mary

Built on a site erected by Roman fishermen in honor of Jupiter, two Roman churches briefly saw the light before Notre Dame. After 200 years of construction, the 130-meter masterpiece of early Gothic cathedral was completed in 1345 in honor of the Virgin Mary.

Notre Dame is a witness of the life of the people of God, of the influence of His charity and His hope.

SAINTE CHAPELLE – The Relics of Christ

In 1243, King Louis IX – who later became a Saint, acquires Christ’s crown of thorns, fragments of the Holy cross and shroud for 135,000 livres from the king of Constantinople and erects a gigantic church to host the most wanted relic in the world, for the same price as the Crown.

Despite multiples fires, flooding and a destructive revolution, it is a true miracle that the church is still standing.