Grand Pardon de Notre-Dame de la Tronchaye

This year, the Regional Pardon will have a special color with the centenary anniversary of the coronation of the statue of the Virgin Mary. On this occasion, the sanctuary offers a series of highlights, novenas, rosaries, adorations, masses, confessions, prayers for the sick and other spiritual activities. 14/08 at 9 p.m.: traditional Marian vigil 15/08: 10 a.m. departure of the procession (sanctuary), 10:30 a.m. pontifical mass, 12:20 p.m. blessing of the sick and families, 12:30 p.m. return procession, 1 p.m. festive meal (paying), 3:30 p.m. prayer of the Rosary, 4 p.m. Solemn Vespers, 4:30 p.m. final blessing. History of the church: This building dates from the 12th and 16th centuries and has a flamboyant Gothic style facade and a Romanesque bell tower. It is off-center from the heart of the city and located on sloping ground. Popular tradition tells that in the 10th century, at the time of the Norman (Viking) invasions, a priest hid a wooden statue of the Virgin and her child in a hollow tree trunk to protect it from looting. Two centuries later, a shepherdess is said to have found this statue in the same trunk. A church was then built on the very spot where the statue was found. This story even gave it its name, “Notre-Dame de la Tronchaye”.

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