Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Notre-Dame de Monflières chapel, located in the hamlet of Monflières in Bellancourt (Somme), originated around 1160 after the appearance of an image of the Virgin to a shepherd in an elm. Considered miraculous, this apparition gave rise to the construction of the chapel, which became a place of pilgrimage, especially every 15 August for the Assumption. The building was enlarged three times over the centuries, reflecting its religious and local importance.

In 1778, Queen Marie-Antoinette offered a sheet of gold to the Virgin of Monflières in thanks for the birth of her daughter, Marie-Thérèse. According to tradition, Rose Bertin, a modist from Abbeville, would have convinced the queen to invoke the Virgin to obtain this birth. The gold sheet was transformed into a dress for the statue of the Virgin, still on display during Heritage Days. The sacred elm, measuring 7 metres in circumference, was shot down in 1965 for security reasons.

The chapel houses an oak statue from the Virgin to the Child, dressed in the dress made thanks to the royal gift. Classified as a historical monument in 2020, it remains a symbol of Marian devotion and an architectural heritage of the Hauts-de-France. The site also includes a 17th century ordeal, reinforcing its historical and religious character.

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