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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame d'Avesnières Basilica, located in Laval in the Avesnières district, has its origins at least in the 11th century, although an earlier church probably existed in the 10th century. The present building owes its Romanesque aspect to a major reconstruction carried out by Benedictines in the 12th century, after Agnes de Laval, Prioress, established there a priory in 1073 under the impulse of Richilde, abbess of the Ronceray d'Angers. This priory, while retaining its parish vocation, was endowed by Guy I of Laval with tithes and lands, allowing its expansion until the Hundred Years War.

During the Hundred Years War, the church was looted and burned by the English in 1429, forcing the nuns to take refuge permanently in Angers. The building, which had been abandoned for decades, saw its first span rebuilt only in 1478. The reconstruction of the bell tower, between 1534 and 1538, marked the beginning of an architectural renaissance, financed in part by the influx of pilgrims attracted by the statue of the "Madone d'Avesnières", deemed miraculous. This 14th century statue, linked to a local legend saving Guy II of Laval from drowning, became the heart of a flourishing pilgrimage after Pope Innocent III had granted indulgences for his restoration.

The 19th century was a period of major transformation for the basilica. In 1855, Bishop Casimir Wicart proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception before more than 10,000 faithful, and the statue of the Virgin was crowned in 1859. The bell tower, damaged during the Franco-German War of 1870, was reconstructed identically between 1874 and 1874, followed by the restoration of the facade and the first spans of the nave (1883-1887). Raised to the rank of minor basilica in 1898 by Pope Leo XIII, it became a symbol of Marian devotion, celebrated at major religious festivals in 1910, 1944 and 1988.

The architecture of the basilica combines a typical Romanesque Latin cross plan with a flat bedside, symbol of Christ's bent head, and a hybrid bell tower (Gothic and Renaissance) culminating at 57 meters. The furniture includes classified medieval statues, such as the "Little Virgin" (XIIIth-XIVth century) and a St.Christophus of 3.50 meters (1583), as well as a 17th century baroque altarpiece and the stained glass windows of Max Ingrand (1945) replacing those destroyed in 1944. The building also houses the relics of the 14 martyrs of Laval, guillotined in 1794 and beatified in 1955.

Ranked among the first French historical monuments in 1840, the basilica illustrates almost a millennium of religious and architectural history. His pilgrimage, still active, is based on the legend of Guy I of Laval, saved from the waters of Mayenne in the 11th century, and on devotion to the Virgin, reinforced by events such as the coronation of 1859 or the processions of Liberation in 1944. Today, it remains a major place of worship in the diocese of Laval, integrated into the parish "La Trinité - Avesnières - Cordeliers".

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