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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame-de-France statue is a concrete work erected in Ancriteville-Saint-Victor, Normandy, during the 2nd quarter of the 20th century. It was initiated by Abbé Bernard de Mathan, parish priest, who vowed it in 1939: if he and the village soldiers returned alive from World War II, a statue would be built in thanksgiving. This vow was fulfilled, and in 1946 the abbot entrusted his realization to the sculptor Carlo Sarrabezolles, whose sister, Solange de Mathan, was a close friend.

The statue, 4 meters high, represents the crowned Virgin holding the Child Jesus, who presents a map of France. It is installed on a grassy promontory, accessible by concrete steps, near the domain of Saint-Victor. The technique used, a direct size in fresh concrete, is remarkable. On the cape of the Virgin are embroidered cathedrals, and the first verses of L'Ave Maria are engraved on his collar. The statue was inscribed in the Historic Monuments on October 4, 2021.

The site was offered by the Marquis de Paix de Coeur, and the statue, including its base and slab, is now owned by the commune. Carlo Sarrabezolles worked in 1946 on a plaster model, preserved in his workshop. This monument reflects both the local devotion and the turbulent history of the Second World War, where the village, despite the bombings, was spared.

The statue is located precisely at 986 Notre-Dame Street, on cadastral plot n°224. Its recent inscription as a Historic Monument underscores its heritage and symbolic importance for Normandy and the local Catholic community.

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