11th April : Our Lady Of Fourviere
11th April
Our Lady Of Fourviere
Country : France
Year : 1873
This famous French shrine of Our Lady stands upon a Roman site at Fourviere: but old as the sanctuary is, the building is recent, its predecessors having been much damaged by the Calvanists and again at the French Revolution.
During the Franco-Prussian War the people pledged themselves to build a new church for the shrine, should their city be spared: accordingly the present basilica was begun in 1873 and consecrated in 1896. The older building dedicated in honor of St. Thomas of Canterbury, still stands. The new church overtopping the town of Fourviere, is a great pilgrimage center, especially on Our Lady’s birthday, when the Lyonnais fulfill their 300-year old promise of an annual pilgrimage in Mary’s honor.
