Mary and child find shelter in this cave

Pilgrims often climb the 216 steps on their knees

Our Lady of Rocamadour – September 8

- WCR photo by Ted Fitzgerald Spiritually rich Rocamadour draws pilgrims to the cave sheltering the small 68-cm high dark wooden image of Mary, seated and holding the Christ Child.

By TED FITZGERALD
Special to the WCR
Rocamadour, France

No town should be built on the side of a chasm, yet France's Rocamadour defies gravity to do just that. A remarkable place, both physically and spiritually, it's a retreat where exploring the site usually requires the use of elevators. Nevertheless, all topographic inconveniences are readily overlooked by the thousands of pilgrims who seek out the shrine of Our Lady of Rocamadour.

Since its 12th century discovery in a cave part way up the slope, the small, 68-cm high dark wooden image of Mary, seated and holding the Christ Child, has been an object of devotion for millions of people. Her shrine on the steep, north valley wall of the 100-metre deep Alzou River gorge attracts pilgrims year-round who visit the several churches that cling to the site's rocky cliffs.

In fact, Rocamadour is so arranged, the maps of the town are portrayed in the vertical, rather than the conventional horizontal projection.

Not on the map

Tiny Rocamadour is not shown on many maps. The southern French shrine is on route 673 a few kilometres east of Highway A20 which leads south to the diocesan seat and Lot departement capital of Cahors and is not far from the city of Sarlat to the west.

Visitors usually arrange to enter the town on foot through the arched Fig Tree defensive gate. Here, they are in the Cité Médiévale, the lowest of the three town levels and the tourist and commercial area. Shops and restaurants flank narrow Rue de la Couronnerie which gives access to approaches to the upper levels of Rocamadour and which is accented by another three ancient stone gateways.

Traditionally, pilgrims make the ascent to the religious city by way of the 216 steps of the Great Stairway, sometimes prayerfully on their knees. Today, however, many visitors will opt for an elevator to the second level sanctuaries.

Pilgrim's Mass

There, seven churches are arranged around the Lower Parvis of the Sanctuaries. Chief of these is that dedicated to Notre Dame, repository of the original wooden statue, on the site of the grotto. A daily Pilgrim's Mass is celebrated here.

Two informational plaques face onto the Parvis. One identifies the location of the tomb of town namesake Saint-Amadour, discovered in 1166 here, but subsequently desecrated during religious wars. Believed to have been a hermit living in the area, almost nothing is known about the saint.

On another wall is a description of the events surrounding Jacques Cartier's first winter spent at the future site of Quebec City in 1536. The explorer and his crew were introduced to a scurvy antidote by native people after prayers were offered before a statue of Our Lady of Rocamadour.

From the Religious City, the Way of the Cross follows a switchback route up the hillside. It's a pleasant exercise where each station is enclosed in an attractive shelter as the route traverses a quiet naturally wooded area. The devotion ends at a large cross at the uppermost level of Rocamadour.

For those unable to make the climb, another elevator connects the second and upper levels. The most prominent structure at the site is the towered castle or chateau that caps the cliffs, the traditional residence for clergy. From this level, visitors are able to experience spectacular views of the narrow, wooded Alzou Valley and the stepped town below them.

Descending from the sacred aeries, spiritually renewed visitors find themselves back in the lower town and ready to enjoy a variety of eating places along the main street. At gift shops, many will spend some time acquiring books or religious articles - prayer cards, statues, mementos of time spent in a most unusual holy place.

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