The ancient Marian shrine of Verdelais in southwestern France

The shrine of Our Lady of Verdelais, near Bordeaux, is dedicated to Our Lady Consoler of the Afflicted. It is almost a thousand years old!

A little history: On Friday, July 15, 1099, at 3 pm, the time of Christ’s crucifixion, the Christian crusaders stormed the walls of Jerusalem occupied by the Muslims. Geraud de Grave, knight of Saint Macaire in Aquitaine (the region of Bordeaux), took part in the battle. In the middle of it, he made a vow to heaven that if he came out alive, he would build an oratory to the Virgin Mary upon his return.

And Jerusalem was reconquered. Inside the liberated city, Geraud found an icon of the Madonna and Child that he brought back to France with him. He retired to a vast expanse of forest where pagan cults still survived, built an oratory there, installed the icon of Our Lady, and began to live as a hermit. Ever since and to this day, the shrine he built has been an important place of religious life and popular devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Dedicated to “Mary Consoler of the Afflicted,” it was rebuilt several times over the 900 years of its existence. The statue of Our Lady that eventually replaced the original icon had to be hidden twice, during the Hundred Years War and during the Wars of Religion. Both times its hiding place was forgotten, and later miraculously found—the first time by a mule, the second time by an ox!

Pilgrims and faithful know that the Virgin hears their prayers at Verdelais. The many ex-votos that cover the walls of the small basilica bear witness to her powerful intercession. While some plaques are very old, others have been added in recent years.

Today the community of the faithful prays for the upkeeping of the shrine and for a priestly presence to be maintained there. Confident in the Virgin who never abandons her children, the Catholics of Verdelais pray their protectress with great fervor.

The Marie de Nazareth Team