Cathedral of Le Puy en Velay

Le Puy en Velay , France.

The Christianization Legends

In 47 or 70 A.D., a woman from Ruessium named Vila who was suffering from a high fever asked to be carried to the top of Mount Anicius. She was laid on a megalithic dolmen that crowned the hill which had the reputation of healing fevers. This dolmen was in fact called "the stone of fevers." Vila fell asleep there, and the Virgin appeared to her in a dream. She asked Vila to go to see the local bishop named George, and ask him to build a church on that spot. The sign the lady would give him would be Vila's cure. When she awoke, Vila felt cured. She went to see Bishop George, who received her well. The prelate hiked to the summit of Mount Anicius with the rest of his clergy. The exact spot where the Virgin had appeared was snow-covered, in the middle of July: there was the outline of the foundations of the future edifice in the snowfall around the dolmen made by a deer. The bishop had a wooden fence erected around the place that would become one day the altar site of the Cathedral of Le Puy en Velay.

More than a century after this miraculous occurrence, in 221, the Blessed Virgin accompanied by angels appeared to a paralyzed woman from the village of Ceyssac, and also told her to go to Mount Anicius to be cured. When the woman reached the fence, she was instantly cured. The Virgin appeared to her to ask for a proper church to be built on that holy ground. Bishop Vosy, the then bishop of the diocese, climbed the hill himself, and then went to Rome to meet Pope Callistus I (C. 155-222). The holy pontiff gave permission for the construction of a basilica.

Construction of the shrine

Before the 10th century, the succession of bishops is poorly documented. Clearly, Bishop Scutarius, the legendary architect of the first cathedral, led the diocese, if we may trust the inscription which bears his name, from the end of the 4th century. It is impossible to say whether the Saint Evodius, who signed the decrees of the Council of Valence in 374, was really bishop of Le Puy en Velay.

The basilica dates from the 11th century as far as the apse, the square transept, and the two bays are concerned. The choir rests directly on the famed rock, but to enlarge the cathedral in order to accommodate the increasing number of pilgrims, four supplemental bays were audaciously added on the sides without resting on solid ground. To make up for a difference in height of 17 meters, massive pillars were built to support the high arches. In addition to this, the apse and the central cupola were altered many times between 1850 and 1865.

Both the Shrine and Marian devotion are well attested in Le Puy after the 11th century, when Pope Saint Leo IX (1002- 1054) proclaimed it "the most illustrious shrine in France." The Cathedral of Our Lady dates chiefly from the first half of the 12th century. The facade, striped in courses of white sandstone and black volcanic breccia, is reached by a steep flight steps. Exquisite statues and mosaics adorn the portal, while, inside, the Cathedral reveals sumptuous golden frescoes. The Cathedral is shaped like a Latin cross, like all Romanesque churches, but its appearance is quite unusual due to its mix of architecture, particularly the Romanesque and the Byzantine.

As in yesteryear, Catholic pilgrims starting or returning from their journey to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, gather to be blessed each morning. Former pilgrims, deeply influenced by the different architectural styles they came in contact to in Arab-occupied Spain, played a role in the diffusion of Eastern art at Le Puy. For example, there exists a striking resemblance between the mosque of Cordoba and the cloister of Le Puy: the mixing of red and white material there became, on the volcanic land of the Velay, a black and white polychromy of lava and sandstone.

The origin of the Black Madonna statue, made of cedar wood, is uncertain. On June 8, 1794, the statue was torn from its shrine and burned in the public square by the revolutionary mob. A replica was made in 1844. On June 8, 1856, another black Virgin from Saint Maurice Church was crowned inside the cathedral.

In 1860, the colossal statue of Notre Dame de France (16 meters high and weighing 10 tons) was erected on Corneille Rock and blessed. It was cast from the iron of 213 canons taken from the Russians at Sebastopol on September 8, 1855.

Feasts celebrated at Le Puy:

• Each year on August 15, a solemn procession of the Black Virgin is held through the streets of the city.
• The Jubilee: The Blessed Virgin is honored in Le Puy as Mother of God (Theotokos) under the name of Our Lady of the Annunciation. When Good Friday falls on March 25th (the feast of the Assumption)—this happens between two and four times each century-the feast is traditionally commemorated by a Jubilee. This Jubilee is one of the oldest after those of Rome and Jerusalem. Tradition traces the first Jubilee of Our Lady of Le Puy back to 1065. Those jubilees attracted such crowds that in 1407 two hundred pilgrims died in a stampede. In the early days, the festivities were limited to just one day (Good Friday, March 25th), but since the Jubilee was so popular it was decided to extend it until Easter Tuesday so as to keep the flux of pilgrims under control. The last Jubilee took place in 2005 and the next one will be in 2016. The next Jubilee in Le Puy will not be held until 2157!