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This sanctuary has been visited by pilgrims from all over the world for almost a thousand years.
For nearly a thousand years, the sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Rocamadour has been visited by pilgrims from all over the world. It is a tiny statue of the Black Madonna to which all these pilgrims converge. Clinging to the rocky wall of the Alzou canyon, the city of Rocamadour is striking. It is an open book on a magnificent page of human and spiritual history, against the backdrop of the hillsides. A primitive sanctuary, dedicated to Our Lady, already existed well before the 10th century, bordering the spectacular Alzou canyon. In 1616, the discovery of the body of a hermit, designated as that of Saint Amadour, made the site a place of pilgrimage frequented by the whole of Christendom as well as an essential stage on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Famous people went there, such as Saint Bernard and Saint Dominique, Saint Louis and his mother Blanche of Castile, and Henri II Plantagenet. In the 13th century, the various chapels of the sanctuary and the fortification of the castle were built. In the 14th century, the pilgrimage reached its peak. The Wars of Religion ruined the shrine. The relics were destroyed. The rebirth of the pilgrimage took place only in the 19th century, thanks to Abbot Caillau, helped by Father Pierre Bonhomme, founder of the Sisters of Our Lady of Calvary of Gramat, in the Lot. In 1853, the Virgin of Rocamadour was one of the first to be crowned in France. The musician Francis Poulenc, who came as a tourist, converted to Catholicism in 1936.
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Mention spéciale pour l'accès handicapé avec l'ascenseur incliné menant du haut de Rocamadour avec le rempart et le château jusqu'au niveau du sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Rocamadour