Walking the Camino de Santiago
The highlight of Rocamadour – even greater than the Basilica church next door – is undoubtedly the chapel of Notre Dame de Rocamadour. For nearly a thousand years, pilgrims from all over the world have come to meet the Black Madonna with closed eyes, holding the infant Jesus on her lap. This 15th-century Gothic chapel is built right into the […]
» Read more
The little chapel of Saint Blaise in the Sanctuary district of Rocamadour also contains an altar to the Divine Mercy. I was particularly struck by the play of sunlight filtered through the stained glass windows, and how it illuminated the image of Jesus. Date: 01 September 2023 Place: Rocamadour, Lot Département, Region of Occitanie, France Maps! The site I’ve been […]
» Read more
This is the first chapel in Rocamadour’s Sanctuary district. It’s appropriate that it is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, since it is by Baptism that one enters into the Church. There’s a lovely little sign in three languages describing the place, and it ends with this suggestion, “This is the ideal opportunity to renew your baptismal vows.” I just […]
» Read more
The town of Rocamadour is carved out of the great limestone cliffs overlooking the Alzou valley. And where there’s limestone, there’s fossils! You can see them most clearly in the many steep staircases, carved out of the living rock. It’s utterly delightful, particularly these shells which, if you squint, resemble those of Saint James. Date: 01 September 2023 Place: Rocamadour, […]
» Read more
This is the entrance to the church of Notre Dame de Rocamadour. Within is the little statue known as the Black Madonna – more on that in coming days. The first small chapel was built into the cliff here in 1105. We don’t know exactly when the Black Madonna made her first appearance, but the first miracle attributed to her […]
» Read more
Apologies! I was ill yesterday, but I’m feeling a little better today – so here’s yesterday’s photo. From the medieval town, there are more stairs upwards, ever upwards, to the shrine churches. There are several here, and in the coming days, we’ll explore them. Meanwhile, you can get a pretty good idea of just how steep these steps are by […]
» Read more
It’s difficult to capture the sheer otherworldliness of Rocamadour in photographs. This is a view looking up from the main medieval street of the town. There are additional levels of the town clinging to the cliffs above. I can’t even imagine what it took to build this. Time to find another set of stairs! Date: 01 September 2023 Place: Rocamadour, […]
» Read more
The main street of Rocamadour is very touristy during the day, though in the evening, after the tourists left, it was actually quite charming. This is one of the most visited Catholic shrines in France, with over a million visitors per year. Not bad for a place with a population of about 600. Date: 01 September 2023 Place: Rocamadour, Lot […]
» Read more
The town and shrines of Rocamadour are built into the side of a cliff. This stair is the main access to the old medieval town. It is just the first of many such stairs I will climb today. I took this photo at about 11:20 AM. It was very hot, as you can probably surmise by the colour of the […]
» Read more
The Alzou Gorge trail ended in a parking lot, which was something of an anticlimax. And then, as I walked into the field beyond, I caught my first view of Rocamadour. It was like something straight out of Tolkien – something of a theme today. It didn’t look possible: a town carved out of and built into a sheer cliff. […]
» Read more