Grotte du Père de Montfort

Mervent

In the heart of the Mervent forest, a stairway leads down to a rock shelter once known as the Roche-aux-Faons. It was there that in 1715 Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, the great missionary of the western countryside, came three times — in June, September and October — to withdraw as a hermit between missions, sleeping in the grotto near a spring, dividing his days between prayer and silence. The episode ended unexpectedly: the hermit was driven out for felling trees in the royal forest without permission, in order to enlarge his shelter. When Montfort died the following year at Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, in the odour of sanctity, the faithful took the path to his grotto: tradition has it that they cut three steps at the foot of the rock for easier access, and the nearby spring was channelled into a fountain where pilgrims still come to draw water. A statue of the Father was erected there in 1843, then a chapel and a calvary accompanied the growth of the pilgrimage. Three centuries later, the site has lost none of its appeal: the parish and the Knights of Columbus have restored the chapel and the reception area, and one meets pilgrims from Indonesia, Argentina or Central Asia following in the saint's footsteps — he was canonised in 1947 — as well as walkers drawn by the coolness of the valley. The grotto rewards the effort: paths beneath the oaks, footbridges and sweeping views over the valley make it one of the finest walking destinations in the Mervent-Vouvant forest.

Getting there : In the Mervent forest, free access all year from a car park beside the forest road, then stone and wooden steps; welcome desk staffed on summer Saturdays and Sundays (3pm-6pm, rosary and vespers at 4.30pm).

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

Ambient sound