Vézelay, Sanctuary of

VÉZELAY, Sanctuary of. - Ancient abbey of Benedictine nuns, founded by Gerard of Roussillon, regent of the Kingdom of Provence, in 858-59 at V. (diocese of Autun).

Nicholas I granted in 863 that the monastery should depend directly on the Holy See; Charles the Bald confirmed its possessions in 868. Damaged by the Normans in 873, it was rebuilt by Gerard, who gave it to monks coming, it seems, from St. Martin of Autun, and it was consecrated, under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin and of the apostles Peter and Paul, in 878 by John VIII while he was on his way to the Council of Troyes. A fire destroyed it between 907 and 926; in the 11th century the Duke of Burgundy granted the crumbling monastery to William of Volpiano, abbot of St. Benignus of Dijon, so that he might renew it. In 1027 Landric, count of Nevers, replaced the abbot Hermann with Odo. At this time the report began to spread that the abbey church preserved the relics of St. Mary Magdalene. The abbot Gauffredo (1037-50) surrounded the high altar with railings, so great was the crowd of pilgrims. But since the abbey of St. Maximin in Provence claimed to possess the relics of St. Mary Magdalene, the monks of V. maintained that Adellemus, brother of Odo, had gone to fetch them. Bishop Norgaud of Autun (1098-1111) forbade the offerings; but in 1103 Pope Paschal II removed the interdict. Pilgrimages increased more and more and V. became the gathering center, in the northeast of France, for pilgrimages to St. James of Compostela.

The abbot Artaud in 1096 began the construction of a new basilica on the site of the Carolingian one; in 1104 he celebrated the dedication of the new building, but, in a riot against the taxes, he was killed in 1106. The new abbot was Renaud de Semour, nephew of St. Hugh, abbot of Cluny. On July 21, 1120 a violent fire destroyed the church and more than a thousand people perished in it. The abbot immediately began the reconstruction. In 1131 Innocent II appointed the new abbot Albicico and in 1132 attended the consecration of the new abbey, which flourished rapidly under Pons of Montboissier (1138-61). At Easter of 1146 St. Bernard came to the illustrious monastery to preach the second Crusade (PL 182, 306-307). Then the abbot had to struggle against William III count of Nevers, and his successor against William IV, so much so that in 1165 the monks took refuge for some time at St-Germain-des-Prés in Paris. Alexander III in 1162 granted new privileges. In 1165 a fire damaged the Basilica and the abbot Gerard of Arcy (1171-98) began its reconstruction in Gothic style. Hugh, his successor, was deposed by Innocent III in 1207.

In the monastery Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, took refuge in 1166. It was visited several times by Louis VII, in 1190 by Philip Augustus, by King Richard the Lionheart and several times by King St. Louis, who attended the translation of 1267, at which the cardinal legate Simon de Brion, later Martin IV, was present.

Following the controversies, concerning the relics, with St. Maximin of Provence, the abbey of V. declined and Paul III in 1537 replaced the monks with 15 canons. The Huguenots occupied V. in 1569. They stole the liturgical furnishings and installed stables in the church. Among the commendatory abbots are remembered O. de Châtillon, cardinal of Lorraine, and the cardinal of Tencin. The Revolution in 1790 suppressed the monks and the church became the parish of V.

The monastic buildings, partly demolished as early as 1760, were sold; in 1835 Prosper Mérimée proposed their restoration, which was approved in 1837, and from 1840 the architect Viollet-le-Duc began the repair of the church. In 1870 a relic of Mary Magdalene donated to V. was the beginning of new pilgrimages. The western façade was partly modified in the 12th century, and partly by Viollet-le-Duc's restoration. It has three portals; in the tympanum of the central one is Jesus Christ among the symbols of the four Evangelists, then the Judgment; on the architrave, episodes of the Magdalene; in the vault, angels. Above, around and on the windows, statues. The narthex is composed of massive piers with columns and historiated capitals, with episodes of the Old and New Testaments and of the lives of saints. Around it, in eight compartments, are depicted the various peoples to whom the apostolic mission will be addressed; then the signs of the zodiac, the labors of the months. In the right portal are scenes of the Savior's infancy, in the left one episodes following his resurrection. The interior of the Basilica has three naves, the central one very high with ten bays; the capitals are historiated with scenes of the Old Testament and episodes from the lives of saints mingled with mythological scenes and scenes of human life. The choir is Gothic; in the ambulatory five chapels open; beneath the choir is the crypt; from the south transept one passes into the chapter house.

In the village of Saint-Père-sous-Vézelay there is a Gothic church preceded by a two-bay portico of the 14th century with a central portal in which the Last Judgment is carved; in the portico the two founding spouses are also represented, and further on a tomb is dated 1258; in a portal now walled up is the Crucifixion. The interior of the church has pointed vaults, with an ambulatory onto which chapels open; in the tall bell tower at the four corners are four angels.

Enrico Josi