I bring you back to historical deep Loire Valley, A beautiful region on history and architecture that I had visited many times and never tired of it, Again, found me an older picture in my cd roms and of course, should be in my blog . I came here by car from my new home in the Morbihan breton always a pleasure, Therefore, let me tell you a bit on the Basilique Notre Dame des Enfants of Châteauneuf sur Cher !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The town of Châteauneuf-sur-Cher is located in the dept. no 18 of Cher, in the Centre Val de Loire region of my belle France. It is located 33 km from Bourges, 51 km from Vierzon, 56 km from Châteauroux, 258 km from Versailles, and 485 km from my current home, We were by Loches and decided to keep going in our road warrior gallops by the road D9 , we have heard about the basilica there so we continue on the road D8 passing Issoudun ,we follow again the D9 and then the D14 into town, From Loches it was 116 km piece of cake…..
The Basilique Notre Dame des Enfants in neo-gothic style located at rue du Château, and built in the 1880s. Given to Saint-Peter and Saint-Paul, the Basilica is the only religious building in France to be dedicated to children. The story began in 1861 ,the church was almost ruined. To rebuild it, the locals opened a subscription by asking for two cents to all the children of France. In one of them, a ten -year -old girl talks for the first time Notre Dame des Enfants or Our Lady of the Children. The idea was adopted by all and was created in 1866 the “Our Lady of Children” brotherhood. In 1869, the foundation stone was laid and in 1879, the basilica was opened to worship. In 1886, the building was completed and ten years later, Pope Léon XIII will erect it in basilica.
The Basilica of Notre Dame des Enfants is 80 meters long, and divided into eleven spans to which is added the Our Lady of Children Chapel. Its large nave has two rows of slender columns which give the impression of a considerable elevation, while the real height of the keystones is 21 meters. The numerous stained glass windows of the basilica form a real educational instrument. The statuary of it is chosen in relation to childhood: Vincent de Paul, Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, Antoine de Padoue, Solange de Bourges, Patroness of Berry, Jacques de Zébédée, Louis de Gonzague, Germaine de Pibrac, Osmond de Sées, Laurent de Rome, Symphorien d’Autun, Saint Louis IX, Jean Berchmans, Thérèse d’Avila, Stanislas Kostka, and Blaise de Sébaste. Its centenary organ dates from 1889 its sound system is administered and concerts are organized each summer. The pilgrimage “Notre Dame des Enfants” is organized on the first Sunday in May.
No time to go inside this time but for you and me in the future, here is some description from the City page, tourist offices, and wikipedia. The master altar is in a carved stone with the face occupied by a bas-relief representing the institutional meal of the Eucharist. The tabernacle is a golden cabinet on the door of the good pastor with the sheep lost on the shoulders. To its right and to its left hold the statues of the four evangelists. The Chapel of Notre-Dame des Enfants is at the bedside of the basilica. In the low relief of the altar, the Virgin Mary sits on a throne. Children approach. She listens to their pleas. This theme is also visible above the altar. On each side of the Virgin, small children approach her and kneel at her feet. In the Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a statue of Saint Solange de Bourges patron saint of Berry and a statue of Saint Didier de Vienne. The Maillé family, owner of the Château , contributed to the financing of the construction of the basilica. A chapel actually is in their memory ; dedicated to Blessed Jeanne-Marie de Maillé and Saint Osmond de Sées. The Chapel of Good Death of Saint Joseph, with Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and an angel by his side. The Chapel of the Baptismal Font ,the stained glass windows represent the seven sacraments. In the middle, the stained glass represents the baptism of Jesus of Nazareth by John the Baptist, in the waters of the Jordan. The pulpit on the front panel is represented the dispersion of the apostles leaving to evangelize the nations. The four evangelists, Saint John with the eagle, Saint Mark and his lion, Saint Luke and his bull, Saint Mathieu with man, as well as Saint Peter and Saint Paul de Tarsus are on the sides. The voice silencer is surmounted by the four angels of the Last Judgment sounding of the trumpet , The Way of the Cross in Sulpician style was manufactured by the Vaucouleurs Union.
The other nice thing to see here with more time is the castle, dating from the 15C with the 11C keep , The first castle was built in the 11C to control the Cher valley. In 1569, the castle was burnt down by Protestants at the start of the wars of religion. In 1793,during the French revolution, the castle was sold as a national property. From 2015, Claude and Mireille Charrier bought the castle lot by lot and undertake its catering and ongoing renovation, It is a private property,
A bit of history tell us that a fortress is built around the year 1000 in this place which was at the limit of the viscounty of Bourges and the lordship of Déols, and therefore on the border of the part of Berry turned towards Aquitaine and the part which was under the influence of the Blois-Champagne’s house. On January 18, 1038, the Lord of Déols-Châteauroux, Eudes I of Déols, defeated an army led by the Archbishop of Bourges Aymon de Bourbon, who thus wanted to enforce the peace of God by force. Following this victory, Châteauneuf became possession of the family of Déols-Châteauroux , In 1569, violent battles opposed Catholics and Protestants. The old church of Châteauneuf is burnt down. A new church dedicated to Saint-Pierre will be built and consecrated on April 6, 1588 the master altar contains relics of Saint Clément, Saint Jacques le Majeur and Saint Symphorien during the French revolution, the town is renamed Mountain-sur-Cher.
The town of Châteauneuf sur Cher on its heritage : https://www.chateauneufsurcher.fr/histoire-patrimoine/
The official Basilique Notre Dame des Enfants : https://nd-enfants.org/
The local Ligniéres en Berry tourist office on the basilica : https://www.lignieresenberry-tourisme.fr/patrimoine-culturel/basilique-notre-dame-des-enfants/
The local Berry en Provence tourist office on the basilica : https://www.berryprovince.com/patrimoine-culturel/basilique-notre-dame-des-enfants/
There you go folks, this is a wonderful historical new find in wonderful Loire Valley, with all its splendors. This town and basilica was worth the detour and shall be back for more, eventually, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Basilique Notre Dame des Enfants of Châteauneuf sur Cher !!! as I.
And, remember, Happy travels, good health and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 