I continue my journey in and around the pink city of Toulouse, one of my favorite in my belle France. On our way back, we stop by Rocamadour , and finally was able to find me pictures in my cd rom vault to show in my blog for you and me, This is great wonderful village and great family times. Let me tell you about it bear with me on the next posts, This time let me tell you of the chapels of Rocamadour !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The Village of Rocamadour of about 610 inhabitants is located in the department of Lot No 46, in the Occitanie region of my belle France. It belongs to the Dordogne valley, It is about 61 km from Cahors, 53 km from Brive-la-Gaillarde, 163 km from Toulouse (from where we visit taking finally the D32), 219 km from Bordeaux, 525 km from Versailles, and 588 km from my current home, You reach it easily from the A20 highway sortie/exit 56,
The Sanctuary Notre-Dame of Rocamadour is not just a place that we visit but a place where we are visited by the Virgin Mary. She transforms lives there, fills them with the love of God, performs miracles, fulfills prayers and gives “firm hope like the rock” The Notre-Dame de Rocamadour sanctuary, whose scope is international, is under the responsibility of the Bishop of Cahors,
The Basilica Saint-Sauveur of Rocamadour with the Notre-Dame Chapel is attached to the southern wall. A wooden mezzanine is an addition of the 19C which was built in order to accommodate a large number of pilgrims. In the choir, a low relief of the 18C in gilded wood of the altar representing the Assumption is surmounted by a Christ in polychrome wood of the 16C. A new built -shaped boat organ was inaugurated in November 2013. The relics of Saint Amadour were reinstalled in the right apse in 2016. The Chapelle Notre-Dame or chapel of the Virgin is one of the 7 chapels being part of the religious city. In the sanctuary. For almost a thousand years, pilgrims from around the world have come to meet the black Virgin at the shelter of the rock, holding the Child Jesus on his knees. In more reduced than the current (8 meters x 9 meters approximately), the primitive chapel was attested at the beginning of the 12C. With enveloping foothills, it was backed by the cliff and separated from the Saint-Sauveur Church by an alley which was used later as sacristy. The primitive chapel was destroyed in 1476 by a rock detached from the cliff. It was then ransacked during the wars of religion and the French revolution. Between 1863 and 1864, the Notre-Dame Chapel was largely rebuilt and enlarged one of the windows of the windows bears the date of 1844 the window which accosted this portal on the right, also of flamboyant style, seems a little more recent By the fact that its implementation has amputated the so -called wall painting of the three dead and the three virtues of the 15C. On the other side of the forecourt, two monumental wall paintings The Annunciation and the Visitation date from the 12C. The second window of the southern elevation would come from the old elevation is from the primitive chapel. The door giving access to the stands dates from the 15C and bears the arms of Denis de Bar. Above the altarpiece, Notre-Dame or the Black Virgin of Rocamadour is a statue-reliquary of the fourth quarter of the 13C. With a height of 76 cm, it consists of two pieces of walnut wood, the child being pegged on her left knee. Formerly it was covered with silver. It was restored after WWII and again in 2003. The Black Virgin of Rocamadour has a 12C walnut statue that is dark, but it was not always so: in the Middle Ages, it was entirely covered with precious metals and gems , The reason for this dark color is difficult to establish. Recent studies have shown that it is not due to the natural aging of the wood or a protective coating or the transfer of the oxidation of metal coatings or the combustion of candles or oil lamps. We still don’t know why she was blackened after being polychrome. A so-called miraculous bell and many ex-voto testify to the graces received in this place and on the oceans. Ex-voto in the form of boat models are suspended in the chapel, including a frigate model from the end of the 18C, and a model of 19C fishing boat.
With octagonal shape, the Chapelle Saint-Jean Baptiste chapel houses the tomb of Jean de Vallon, knight of the order of St-Jean de Jerusalem, the portraits of some great pilgrims in the history of France and a marquee replaced in holy water since June 20, 1910. It was transformed into a baptistery in the 19C.
The Chapelle Saint-Blaise chapel or the divine mercy is devoted to a holy healer martyred in the 4C. Of modest size it presents beautiful stained glass windows and paintings, including one from Saint-Blaise flooding the world of its love by water and blood which flows on its side pierced
The Chapelle Sainte-Anne chapel was built in the 13C. It contains a baroque altarpiece which illustrates the mysteries of the black Virgin: “Nigra Sum Sed Formosa” or “I am black but beautiful.
The Chapelle Saint-Michel chapel is a semi-troglodyte chapel is the highest in the sanctuary. It is not oriented but is parallel to the cliff which constitutes a lateral wall and part of the ceiling. It is reached by a small staircase which leaves in front of the Notre-Dame Chapel. On the exterior wall is a 12C fresco representing the Annunciation and the Visitation. The little cul-de-four apse is adorned with 13C frescoes representing Christ in a mandorle, surrounded by various saints and angels
The Chapelle Saint-Louis chapel located under the previous one, the seventh chapel of the religious city has been devoted since 2011 to the world of rugby under the term of Notre-Dame de l’Ovalie. It is a place of memory for the family of rugby strongly established in the Quercy. Jerseys and objects are deposited there by French and foreign players
The town of Rocamadour on its heritage :https://mairierocamadour.fr/decouverte/histoire-et-patrimoine/
The official Sanctuary of Notre Dame of Rocamadour :https://www.sanctuairerocamadour.com/
The local Dordogne valley tourist office on Rocamadour: https://www.visit-dordogne-valley.co.uk/discover/cultural-heritage/villages-to-visit/rocamadour
The Lot dept 46 tourist office on Rocamadour : https://www.tourisme-lot.com/rocamadour/visiter-rocamadour
There you go folks, you will love your walks here, we did and always looking forward to be back, eventually. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the chapels of Rocamadour !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 