Dear Friends,
Rocamadour is a village 100 miles north of Toulouse, France, set against a backdrop of spectacular views of the French countryside. The buildings of Rocamadour rise up in stages out of the side of a cliff on the right bank of the Alzou, which here runs between rocky walls 400 feet tall. Flights of steps ascend from the lower town to the churches, a group of massive buildings half-way up the cliff. The chief of them is the pilgrimage church of Notre Dame (rebuilt in its present configuration from 1479), which houses a powerful Black Madonna reputed to have been carved by St. Amadour, himself.
The Rocamadour site has attracted pilgrims from all over the world for centuries. Pilgrims sometimes crawl up the 216 stairs on their knees to reach the chapel devoted to this beautiful Black Madonna.
Rocamadour is a very special place attributed with numerous miracles reported over hundreds of years. Verified reports of miracles at the site range from big to small, from the miraculous preservation of the body of St. Amadour, to the ancient bell that rings all by itself, and more.
