Notre-Dame de Pontoise et le vœu de 1638

Pontoise

In 1638, plague was ravaging Pontoise. The notables and townspeople, at the end of all human resources, went in procession from the church of Saint-Maclou to the church of Notre-Dame, in the lower town, to pray before a statue of the Virgin that the town already venerated. The bargain they proposed has gone down in the annals: if Mary halted the epidemic, the municipality pledged to give the church a silver statue of the Virgin. Tradition relates that the plague ceased — and the "solemn vow of 1638" was kept. Since then, Pontoise has never really stopped honouring its Virgin: pilgrims come to say the rosary before the statue held to be miraculous and to leave ex-votos, those small plaques of thanks for favours received that line the sanctuary. When the diocese of Pontoise was created in 1966, its first bishop, Mgr Rousset, placed the whole new diocese under the patronage of Notre-Dame de Pontoise and revived the pilgrimage in its present form: every year around 8 September, feast of the Nativity of the Virgin, a procession winds through the streets of the old town, with spiritual halts at the Carmel and in the historic places, blending prayer, festivity and remembrance. In this medieval town terraced above the Oise, with its narrow streets, cellars and ancient sanctuaries, the pilgrimage perpetuates a gesture almost four centuries old: that of an entire town entrusting itself to its protectress.

Getting there : Rue de la Coutellerie, in the lower town of Pontoise. Pontoise station (RER C, lines H and J), then a 10-minute walk. Church open for services; major diocesan pilgrimage every year around 8 September. Coordinates: approach point in the street of the church.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound