Black Madonna of Rocamadour embarks for sailing race

Made on the passage of Cape Horn by Sebastien Destremau, in the 2016-2017 edition of the Vendee Globe sailing race, to symbolically close the ocean behind him, the “key to the oceans” was brought back safely. It then followed the Black Madonna of Rocamadour, patron saint of navigators, back home to Quercy, France, as the statue had been moved to the French coast to protect the sailors during the long race.

What is the key to the oceans? This story began four years ago, when, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and right at the bottom of the rankings, Destremau ironically let the race director know: "When I leave, I'll turn off the lights, I’ll make sure there’s no one left, then I'll lock the door of the oceans." The skipper took a few things he had on hand and made the famous "key" with a hanger and pieces of wood. When he arrived on the Atlantic coast in France, the skipper entrusted the key to Father Vincent Lautram and placed it at the foot of the statue of the Black Madonna of Rocamadour.

One year later, in 2018, Destremau received an invitation from the Holy See to present his famous key to Pope Francis! The encounter was life-changing for the skipper. "I am very lucky to have received the Pope’s blessing. He also blessed the key, and then we organized a pilgrimage to Rocamadour to take it back there."

Today French solo sailor Sebastien Destremau has an unbreakable connection with the Black Madonna of the Rocamadour shrine in south-central France. She guides and protects him on the sinuous path of faith. At the start of the Vendee Globe sailing race (single-handed non-stop round the world yacht race) on November 8, 2020, she embarked with him aboard his monohull ‘Merci.’ "I have had a special relationship with the Black Madonna of Rocamadour since she was given the key to the oceans," says Sebastien Destremau. His key is on display in the chapel of the Black Madonna, in Rocamadour, which Destremau visits once in a while. When he set out for the Vendee Globe this year, he didn't fail to take the Virgin Mary on board: "I won't be taking a Bible, rosary or medal with me on the boat. I am taking a miniature of the statue of Our Lady of Rocamadour with me."

Meanwhile, the statue of the Black Madonna of Rocamadour, patroness of sailors since the middle ages, has returned for a few weeks to the French coast to the church of Our Lady of Good Port (Notre Dame de Bon Port), where she will stay until the last competitor returns in January 2021.

Adapted from: Aleteia and Archyde