Basilique Notre-Dame-des-Miracles de Mauriac

Mauriac

At Mauriac, tradition traces the sanctuary back to Theodechild, daughter of Clovis: she is said to have founded a monastery here after events held to be miraculous, and according to the local account the Virgin appeared on the spot. On this site has stood since the 12th century the largest Romanesque church in Haute-Auvergne, whose west portal bears an Ascension tympanum attributed to a Languedoc workshop, a rare thing in Auvergne; a lantern of the dead stands near the entrance. Above the high altar sits the Black Madonna, a polychrome walnut statue of the 16th century, which tradition says has been venerated here since the 7th century. The graces attributed to her gave the sanctuary its name: Notre-Dame des Miracles, Our Lady of Miracles. On 13 May 1855, the statue was solemnly crowned with a diadem of gold and precious stones offered by Pope Pius IX, and Benedict XV raised the church to the rank of minor basilica on 20 October 1921. Every year, on the Sunday after 8 May, the regional pilgrimage carries the Black Madonna in procession through the streets of the town. Mauriac also keeps the memory of Saint Mary (Marius), the hermit evangeliser of Haute-Auvergne, whose relics were transferred to the town around 1050: from the Romanesque nave to the baptismal font cut from a single block of trachyte, everything here tells of ten centuries of popular fervour.

Getting there : In the town centre of Mauriac, place Guillaume-Duprat; church open during the day, free admission. Coordinates given for the old town centre; the building is visible from afar.

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

Ambient sound