Basilique Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours

Guingamp

In the heart of the old town, the basilique Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours reads like a book of architecture: Romanesque piers at the crossing of the transept, Gothic nave and chancel of the 13th and 14th centuries, a polygonal chevet raised between 1462 and 1484, a Renaissance west front. This last was born of an accident: on 29 November 1535, according to the inscription on the portal (1537 according to other sources), the south-west tower collapsed, bringing down the portal and part of the nave; the rebuilding, to designs by Jean Le Moal, continued until around 1580, hence the asymmetry of the two towers. Originally there stood the chapel of the counts' castle; InfoBretagne reports that a Black Virgin was venerated there as early as the 12th century. The present statue, of polychrome wood, is dated to the 14th century but may be a 17th-century copy; broken during the Revolution, it was reconstituted around its head, saved by a resident, and installed beneath the north porch, converted into a chapel in the mid-19th century. The pilgrimage grew to regional scale from 1650; the Virgin received the name Notre-Dame de Bon-Secours in 1676 and was crowned in 1857. The pardon of the Visitation retains its night-time torchlit procession, closed by three bonfires which the association Patrimoine de Guingamp traces back to the Frérie Blanche of the 14th century. Explanations for the statue's colour abound; the association points out that many Black Virgins owe their hue to the oxidation of pigments. The church was raised to a basilica in 1899 and listed as a historic monument in 1914.

Wikipédia — Basilique Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours de Guingamp ↗

Getting there : Right in the centre of Guingamp, on the rue Notre-Dame, in the pedestrian area (to be checked); the chapel of the Black Virgin opens beneath the north porch. Parish church open for worship; visiting hours (to be checked). The pardon is held on the Saturday before the first Sunday of July (to be checked).

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

Ambient sound