Église Saint-Martin de Sebourg et tombeau de saint Druon

Sebourg

Born around 1118 at Épinoy into a noble Flemish family, Drogo — Druon in French — lost his father before his birth and his mother in giving birth to him; believing himself responsible, he gave away his inheritance to the poor and became a penitent pilgrim. Around 1135 he settled at Sebourg as a shepherd in the service of a pious woman, and his reputation for holiness sprang from there: people claimed to see him at one and the same time tending his flock in the pastures and attending Mass in the church, this gift of bilocation being the miracle most often reported of him. He then made nine pilgrimages to Rome on foot, until a hernia left him unable to travel; he then had a cell built against the wall of the church at Sebourg and lived there as a recluse for some forty years, on barley bread and water. When the Romanesque church burned down, legend has it that he remained at prayer in his cell, surrounded by flames, and came out unharmed — the episode that founded his local reputation for sanctity. At his death, his family wished to take his body back to Épinoy, but the cart is said to have stopped dead at the edge of the village, which was taken as God's will that he should remain at Sebourg; a cross still marks the spot. The church, rebuilt from the time of his death and crowned in 1697 with a 73-metre bell tower, keeps his shrine and has for eight centuries drawn pilgrims who invoke him against hernias and kidney stones, ailments he suffered himself. Druon has remained the patron saint of shepherds, but also — by an unexpected shift in devotion — of café owners. Sources differ on the year of his death, 1186 or 1189, and on the details of his life, known through late hagiographical accounts.

Wikipédia — Église Saint-Martin de Sebourg ↗

Getting there : Sebourg is 10 km east of Valenciennes by the D934 and then the D50. The church overlooks the village; free admission during opening hours. Inside are the shrine of Saint Druon, the chapel dedicated to him and the reconstruction of his hermit's cell. Traditional procession in his honour at Trinity Sunday.

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

Ambient sound