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Origin and history

The chapel Saint-Blaise de Rocamadour is part of the religious city built on cliffside in the 12th century, under the impulse of Géraud d'Escorailles, abbot of Saint-Martin-de-Tulle. This sanctuary, dedicated to a holy healer martyred in the fourth century, is distinguished by its stained glass and paintings, including a representation of Saint Blaise flooding the world with water and blood. It is modest in size and embodies medieval sacred art and popular devotion.

The Marian city of Rocamadour, of which the chapel is part, has been a high place of pilgrimage since the 11th century, attracting faithful from all over Europe. In 1166, the discovery of Saint Amadour's intact body, deposited in the neighbouring crypt, strengthened his prestige. The miracles recorded (126 authenticated in 1172) and visits by figures such as Henry II Plantagenet or Saint Louis in 1244 make it a major site of Christendom, alongside Rome or Compostela.

In the 16th century, the wars of Religion ravaged the sanctuary: the Huguenots looted and burned the relics in 1562, leaving only a few bones of Saint Amadour, saved by the inhabitants. After a decline in the 17th and 18th centuries, marked by the ruin of the buildings, the city was restored from 1842 under the aegis of the bishops of Cahors. Abbé Chevalt then supervised the work, giving Rocamadour back its past brilliance.

The Saint-Blaise chapel, like the other six of the city, enjoys protections linked to the entire site, classified as a historical monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2013, the millennium of the sanctuary was celebrated in a jubilee year, highlighting its spiritual and heritage importance. Today, it houses works of sacred art and bears witness to medieval fervour, while integrating into a unique architectural landscape, shaped by the cliff and the Alzou.

The site, accessible by the Holy Way and its 216 steps which were once carried on their knees by pilgrims, organizes its spaces around a paved parvis. The latter, built on two levels, serves the Basilica of Saint-Sauveur, the crypt of Saint-Amadour, and the seven chapels, including that of Saint-Blaise. Its history, combined with legends such as Durandal's or musical compositions (such as the Litanias of Poulenc in 1936), makes it a symbol of the Occitan religious heritage.

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