The abbey church of Mont Saint-Michel in French Normandy recently celebrated its millennium anniversary. The site is a symbol of French Catholic identity and attracts over 3 million visitors annually.
Newsroom(13/06/2023 21:30, Gaudium Press) The history of Mont Saint-Michel is intertwined with its precarious surroundings. Although the present abbey church was constructed in 1023, there are accounts of a church dedicated to St. Michael being built on the mount as early as 708. According to the oldest text “Revelation,” describing the abbey’s construction, Bishop St. Aubert of Avranches received three visitations in a dream from the archangel, instructing him to build a sanctuary in his honour on the summit of the mount.
St. Aubert initiated the construction of the first church, which could accommodate around a hundred people, and it was consecrated in October 709. The church was known as Mont-Saint-Michel-au-péril-de-la-Mer (“Mont Saint-Michel at the peril of the sea”). The bishop appointed 12 canons to pray the Divine Office and receive local pilgrims.
In the 10th century, the Benedictine monks replaced the canons at the request of Richard I, Duke of Normandy, who disapproved of the canons’ luxurious lifestyle. In 1023, the monks began building the abbey church that stands today. The project involved utilizing three rock-cut crypts and the former chapel. This endeavour elevated the site’s international prominence, attracting pilgrims from across Christendom who were drawn to the numerous miracles associated with Mont Saint-Michel.
The architectural feat of constructing the abbey was likened to Noah’s ark resting upon the crypts. The granite blocks were quarried on the Chausey Islands, 34 kilometres away, while the lighter and more easily carved Caen stone was used when, in the midst of the Hundred Years’ War, the Romanesque choir collapsed, it was rebuilt in flamboyant Gothic style.
The abbey underwent continuous architectural evolution until the 19th century. One notable addition was “La Merveille” (The Wonder) in the 13th century, an impressive example of Norman Gothic art. It consists of two buildings on three levels, supported by high buttresses, with a cloister and refectory, 80 meters above sea level, beneath which were built an almshouse, a storeroom, and guest rooms.
During the 17th century, the abbey’s fame declined when a portion of it was converted into a prison by royal authority. It was further seized by the central government during the French Revolution and used as a detention centre for priests deemed enemies of the Jacobin regime. In the 19th century, Mont Saint-Michel was gradually restored to monastic life and its original purpose as a sanctuary. The abbey’s silhouette was enhanced with a neo-Gothic spire in 1897, crowned by a gilded statue of the archangel.
To commemorate its 1,000th anniversary, the abbey is hosting the exhibition “La Demeure de l’Archange” (The Archangel’s Abode), featuring around 30 masterpieces that trace the abbey’s glorious and tumultuous history. Visitors will have the opportunity to view sculptures, scale models, statues, and silverware that have never before been displayed at the abbey. Additionally, a special light show called the “Millennium Solstice” will be projected onto Mont Saint-Michel from various locations in the bay on the evening of June 23.
–Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
