Walking the Camino de Santiago
During and immediately after the French Revolution, most of the church buildings and virtually all of the treasures of the church throughout France were plundered by the new government. In Conques, however, where the faith still ran deep, the villagers themselves “looted” the abbey treasury and stored the various items in their cellars and barns until the government agents left […]
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From August 18 through October 23, 2023, I walked from Le Puy-en-Velay in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain on pilgrimage to the tomb […]
During and immediately after the French Revolution, most of the church buildings and virtually all of the treasures of the church throughout France were plundered by the new government. In Conques, however, where the faith still ran deep, the villagers themselves “looted” the abbey treasury and stored the various items in their cellars and barns until the government agents left […]
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On to the museum! This medieval reliquary is called La Majesté de Sainte-Foy. The saint’s skull was housed here from Carolingian times. These days, her relics are kept in a shrine in the abbey church, but they are put back here on the saint’s feast (October 6) when the reliquary is paraded through the town in solemn procession. Built of […]
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It seems appropriate for Christmas Eve to post a photo about anticipation and waiting! In Conques, I stayed at the abbey’s gîte. As we waited for our turn to sign in, we congregated in this little courtyard. You can see the bags of those waiting, and if you’ve got an eagle eye, you might spot my bag, hat, and sticks. […]
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After taking my leave of Ávila, I continued to explore the beautiful medieval village of Conques. You could see the abbey church from basically everywhere, and the streets were full of locals, pilgrims, hikers, and tourists. By this point, I was looking for a more substantial lunch, so as I wandered about, I kept an eye open for a likely […]
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I tried to find a decent vantage point to photograph the façade of the abbey church of Sainte-Foy de Conques. The little square in front, the Place du Parvis, is too narrow to get a good shot, so I backed up into a street. The building directly behind the church is the abbey itself, and I would be staying in […]
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We spent several hours exploring the medieval village of Conques. This included a walk around the great abbey church. Like many medieval constructions, there is ample evidence of additions, changes, and restorations. In fact, the church is under restoration right now. You can see some of the scaffolding on the right. It somehow reminded me of a quote by G.K. […]
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After exploring for a while, I left the abbey church to see the village of Conques and to find some lunch. This is the view from the church doors. This village is one of the most perfectly preserved medieval villages I visited. And unlike some others on the Camino, this was not a museum like Colonial Williamsburg for example, but […]
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Among the many small shrines in the Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy in Conques, there is a statue of Saint Thomas Becket, one of my favourite saints. Finding a statue of him here was a surprise. The nearby sign includes a quote from a letter he wrote to a Bishop named Gilbert. The Image is below in the bonus slot, and […]
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Walking through the ambulatory in the Abbey of Sainte-Foy in Conques, you find the shrine of the saint’s relics directly behind the high altar. The stained glass image behind the metal grill is a 21st-century image based on her bejeweled 11th-century reliquary, which itself is usually kept in the nearby museum. I’m including a bonus photo of the stained glass […]
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After Mass—which was beautiful—I set about exploring the abbey church. The architecture is just stunning, as I hope this look up over the sanctuary shows. While I’m not a fan of the modern ambo and main altar, they do fit in with the fabric of the place. The icon on the left is Sainte-Foy. The shrine of her relics is […]
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