Basilique Notre-Dame de Montligeon

La Chapelle-Montligeon

A "cathedral in the fields": that is how this immense neo-Gothic church appears, rising above a village of a few hundred souls, born of the intuition of a simple country priest. Appointed to La Chapelle-Montligeon in 1878, Father Paul Buguet (1843–1918) was possessed by one idea: to pray, and have others pray, for the forsaken dead, those for whom no one intercedes any longer, while giving work to the living of his deserted parish. In 1884 he founded the Expiatory Work for the Deliverance of the Souls in Purgatory, which he kept alive thanks to a printing works set up in the village. Its success was worldwide: in 1895, Leo XIII raised the work to the rank of archconfraternity, and offerings poured in from every continent. To welcome the pilgrims, in 1894 Father Buguet launched the building of a basilica designed by the architect Tessier, inspired by Sées Cathedral: 74 metres long, vaults 23 metres high, two spires of 60 metres completed in 1911. The building, consecrated in 1928, was at once given the title of basilica. In the choir, the marble of Our Lady the Deliverer shows the Virgin freeing a soul from purgatory; the founder's recumbent effigy greets visitors, and his body rests in the crypt. Montligeon remains the world centre of prayer for the dead: its fraternity gathers people at prayer from all over the world, and the great All Saints' pilgrimages draw thousands every year, come to entrust their dead.

Getting there : In the heart of the village of La Chapelle-Montligeon (26 rue Principale), on the edge of the forest of Réno-Valdieu, in the Perche. Car park on site, sanctuary open all year, free admission; the sanctuary has accommodation and a restaurant.

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

Ambient sound