And while in the wonderful Île Bouchard we did some walking from our great chambre d’hôte or B&B (see post) into the town. Well this is a unique town as it is an island! Right in the middle of the Vienne river! It was a great find, and we love it; will be back as it is a great base for the sightseeings in the Loire Valley!
The Île-Bouchard is crossed by the Vienne river for 1.7 km, which constitutes a dividing limit. L’Île-Bouchard is located in the Indre-et-Loire department,37 in the Centre-Val de Loire region of my belle France.
As it happened in our walks we came into a nice church and it became the site seen of our visit as this was supposed to be a base for our wines and Chinon sightseeing (see posts). The Saint-Gilles Church, built in the 11C. It is established that Joan of Arc, going to meet King Charles VII not far from Chinon, entered and heard mass there on March 6, 1429!
The Saint Gilles Church is in Romanesque style, was a former 11C priory. From this time, only the north side and its portal remain. The facade and its portal, the nave and the bell tower date from the 12C. The Gothic choir has three aisles and a flat apse; it was rebuilt in the 15C thanks to donations from king Charles VII. The vaults and brick roofs were redone in the 19C. The stained glass window dates from 1801 and is titled La bonne mort de Saint Joseph or the good death of St Joseph, The church has an ongoing fund raising to renovate the nave and roof in need of repairs.
The events of December 8 to 14, 1947, when four little girls, Jacqueline Aubry (12 years old) and her sister Jeanne Aubry (7 years old), their cousin Nicole Robin (10 years old) and their little neighbor Laura Croizon (8 years old), say they saw the Blessed Virgin Mary, accompanied by an angel. They were able to kiss the Virgin and the latter asked them to pray for France and to build a cave which will later become the sanctuary of Notre-Dame-de-la-Prière or Our Lady of Prayer.
The many witnesses as there were perhaps 2,000 people in the Church Saint Gilles on Sunday December 14 were struck by certain details such as the fact that the little girls were all kissing the same point in space or that Jacqueline was lifting her sister. and her friends without difficulty when it was usually difficult for her and all could see a particularly bright ray of Sun when the Virgin Mary disappeared. The little Jacqueline Aubry was cured in twenty-four hours of her myopia, her strabismus and her purulent conjunctivitis. It is the only unexplained healing that takes place as a result of these appearances. Pilgrimages and public worship were authorized by Mgr André Vingt-Trois, then Archbishop of Tours (and later Archbishop of Paris), on December 8, 2001. A family pilgrimage has taken place there every year since 1985.
A double reliquary of the relics of Mother Teresa and of John Paul II was installed in the Saint-Gilles Church in 2017 ,it represents a stylized Romanesque wooden church adorned with red and green patinas in the fire, gold and silver leaf with rock crystal, amethyst and chalcedony cabochons. We had no time as the sanctuary was in service, so rather we saw the main church.
The Sanctuary of the Ïle Bouchard: https://www.ilebouchard.com/histoire.html
The city of Île Bouchard on its heritage inclus the church: http://www.mairie-ilebouchard.fr/fr/information/93701/patrimoine
This Saint Gilles Church is a must while in the area, very nice church. It was late Saturday and we had it all for ourselves. Hope you enjoy the tour and do visit the region ; after all is the valley of the kings! Île Bouchard was quant , nice, friendly, and we will be back.
And remember , happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
Leave a Reply