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Origin and history

The church Notre-Dame des Escaliers de Marcevol, also called Sainte-Marie-des-Grades, is a Romanesque building located in the hamlet of Marcevol, 1 km from Arboussols (Pyrénées-Orientales). Mentioned in 1088, it was built in the 11th and 12th centuries, with a single nave and a semicircular bedside fortified. Its Lombard architecture, marked by bands of lesenes and grouped arcades, bears witness to regional Romance influence.

The church is linked to a local legend: the mother of Saint Lin, one of the first popes, would be buried there. According to tradition, this woman would have crossed the region in torrential rain by carrying a bag of flour that remained miraculously dry, attracting crowds on pilgrimage. The name of the Stairs would come from the steps leading to its court, mentioned from the twelfth century under the name Sainte-Marie des Degrés.

In 1011, a pontifical bubble quotes Marcevol among the possessions of the Abbey of Cuxa. In the 12th century, the bishop of Elne entrusted the church to the regular canons of the Holy Sepulchre. The fortification of its enclosure, with arches and braces, could date back to the 12th–13th centuries, reflecting the tensions of the time. Its unique bay bell tower and brown belloon walls, covered with tiles, illustrate local techniques.

Classified as a Historic Monument in 1973, the church maintains an apse with five Lombard arched panels and a nave with blind facades. Its diaphragm wall separates the choir from the apse, while recessed stones allow access to the bell. Materials, such as pebbles arranged in the ears or granite corner chains, reveal an adaptation to the resources of the Conflent.

Today a communal property, Notre-Dame des Escaliers remains a witness to Catalan Romanesque art and medieval devotion. His annual forgiveness, inspired by the legend of the bag of flour, perpetuates a centuries-old tradition, rooted in the religious and cultural landscape of Occitanie.

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