Pilgrims on the Way

The long climb out of the valley up from Conques was exhausting. After the steepest part, near the top, we came to a tiny chapel of Sainte-Foy with a bell the pilgrims are supposed to ring when they arrive safely to this point. This has apparently been a custom since the heyday of medieval pilgrimage, so the monks in the […]

After descending through Conques to the river and crossing over a beautiful stone bridge, we began one of the roughest climbs I have done on Camino. Sort of a cross between the Madeline climb of a few days ago and the walk out of Grado on the Primitivo, but with more slick rocks and boulders. This particular terrain is what […]

In keeping with my plan to stop in every church along the way, I took a slight detour to visit the Chapelle Saint Roche up on the hill as you leave the town. I was rewarded with a spectacular view of the town from below. which is just as well, as the doors to the chapel itself were locked. I […]

After breakfast in the abbey refectory – toast, juice, and a bowl of coffee – I began my walk late, just after 8:00 AM. Such decadence! Even after all that, leaving Conques was bittersweet. I could easily have stayed here for days. But consolations never last. There was quite the parade of pilgrims leaving. Date: 28 August 2023 Place: Conques, […]

This sign hangs at the head of the refectory in Conques Abbey. The words are those of the chorus of a medieval pilgrimage song, attested to in the very first guidebook to the Camino, the Codex Calixtinus, written sometime in the 12th Century. The language itself is extinct, though it is related to both modern Catalan and Occitan. Despite this, […]

The pilgrims staying at the abbey were served dinner in the old refectory. I’m given to understand that the friars eat elsewhere now. It’s a lovely space; as you can see, there are quite a few pilgrims and hikers here. I suspect that’s because the route from Le Puy to Conques is widely considered France’s most beautiful hiking trail. After […]

The tympanum of the abbey church at Conques contains one of the most beautiful – and fearsome – depictions of the Last Judgement I’ve ever seen. It has been called “one of the fundamental works of Romanesque sculpture due to its artistic qualities, its originality, and its dimensions”. Everything, in fact, is arranged around the central figure of Christ towards […]

During and immediately after the French Revolution, most of the church buildings and virtually all of the treasures of the church throughout France were plundered by the new government. In Conques, however, where the faith still ran deep, the villagers themselves “looted” the abbey treasury and stored the various items in their cellars and barns until the government agents left […]

On to the museum! This medieval reliquary is called La Majesté de Sainte-Foy. The saint’s skull was housed here from Carolingian times. These days, her relics are kept in a shrine in the abbey church, but they are put back here on the saint’s feast (October 6) when the reliquary is paraded through the town in solemn procession. Built of […]