My Celebration Of Saint Mary Magdalene In Vezelay

Every year when July 22 comes around, besides being reminded that I have only one month left before my birthday in August,I always think about celebrating the feast day of Mary Magdalene.  I have done this several times at La Sainte Baume Saint Maximin, in the south of France, which remains one of my favourite spiritual places.

For those of you who have not read my post on Mary Magdalene nor La Sainte Baume, I will briefly recount the Provencal tradition that says she along with Lazarus, Saint Martha,  and others arrived by boat at Saintes Maries de la Mer, southwest of Marseilles after Jesus’s resurrection and return to heaven.  From there they spread the gospel with Mary Magdalene especially being given credit for  the Christianization of all of southern France.

This year though,  I thought I would see what they are doing at Vezelay, which also has long been associated with my beloved  saint.  It would certainly be a much shorter drive and of course being in Burgundy is a big plus gastronomically!

The Basilica was at one time, the major pilgrimage for Mary Magdalene, when they reportedly had the majority of her relics(bones) there.  How the remains of Mary Magdalene got to Vezelay, from where she died a La Saint Baume, is rather hazy.

According to history,  the Vezelay Abbaye , in 882, sent a monk to La Sainte Baume to retrieve the remains of the saint during the Saracen invasion, out of fear that they would desecrated and destroyed.  Yet in 1279, it was announced that the original crypt of Mary Magdalene was rediscovered, having been preserved in secrete to avoid any Saracen destruction.

After authentication of the relics in La Sainte Baume in 1295 by the pope, Vezelay lost a lot of pilgrims specifically coming to honor Mary Magdalene.  Because Vezelay remained an important stop on the Way of Saint Jacques(Saint James) to Santiago de Compostela, the village and church however retained its religious significance and prospered.

Back to the relics; Vezelay does have an authenticated portion of the saint’s rib, and because of the long standing tradition, Vezelay once again has resumed a place of celebrating Mary Magdalene.  The procession was to start at 11 am on July the 22th.

Unusually for me, I arrived early to find a trickle of  clergy starting to gather in the Hotel de Lion D’or parking lot, where the beautiful gold trimmed and adorned reliquary resting on a red wooden platform looked really out of place, while waiting to be carried up the hill to the Basilica.

The monks and nuns from the Fraternity of Jerusalem, came already cloaked in their blue and white robes of course, but the vast majority of the priests arrived in street clothes and proceeded to don sacramental vestments as the faithful milled around.  I only recognised who the bishop was, when a rather tall man in a clerical white collar pulled out his pink cap and placed it on top of his head.

The full sun beamed very hot, without mercy making me feel like a  fritter, with nary of a breeze and I was thinking how much hotter they must feel in those robes.  After a few prayers and chants lead by the bishop, the procession started up the very steep hill.

I quickly  entered into my meditative trance like mood, that seems to engulf me in processions like these. Though I am aware of my surroundings, such as the golden scallop shell imbedded in the pavement used to guide the ancient pilgrims, they feel somehow distant, except for the singing chants as we slowly plied up the hill.

I do however, remember distinctively  feeling a sudden gulf of a cool breeze while singing Veni Sanctus Spiritus, evoking the presence of the Holy Spirit to descend amongst His faithful pilgrims.  I quickly gave thanks to such a welcoming sign and took it as blessings from above of  the Spirit of God.

Strangely, and this always happens in processions at Rocamadour, with its ever ending steep steps, I never feel the otherwise pull of gravity that I usually feel walking up steep hills.  My feet seem to plod ahead as if programmed without much effort or sensation of going uphill.

Chanting and meditation are both conducive to finding that inner mystical space where we become aware of our connection to the Divine God and universal Love.  The Basilica suddenly comes into view after winding around an upper corner and it looked as welcoming to me as it must have to the many pilgrims who have walked this sacred path before me.

After a few more twisting turns, the total grandeur of the massively carved portal welcomes us all.  We file into the cool realms of this magnificent gothic church, looking for seats  before the mass starts.

The bishop’s homily was wonderfully recognizant of all the beautiful attributes of Mary Magdalene: her unwavering devotion to Christ, her anointing of Him and the significance of her being the first to witness the resurrected Jesus.

I was especially grateful that he focused on her being named  the Apostolorum Apostola or the apostles’ Apostle and his belief that Christ certainly confided in her more than any other.  This bishop spoke of her with such passionate conviction, that I felt he must have a sincere and meaningful devotion to this beautiful saint as well.

At the end of the Mass, he invited us all to partake in a “pot d’amitié” or friendly drink and picnic. Arranged on the lovely grass terrace in back of the Basilica was a very long table filled with bottles of wines being uncorked and poured along with baskets of nuts and crackers as well.

What I thought was just going to be a glass of wine offered turned out to be a veritable wine degustation!  After all folks, this is Burgundy!

Several vintners were there graciously pouring glass after glass of mostly their AOC Vezeley white chardonnays, and rosés made from the grapes from the terraced vines that encircled the Basilica.  One white wine made from an ancient variety indigenous to Vezelay, called the Melon, was very perfumed with an unusual fruitiness that I had not tasted before.

There was bowls of water for the doggies, and merriment reigned  not only for the children running around chasing each other, but hearty laughter amongst the blue robed religious and priests busily conversing and sharing wine with family, friends and pilgrims.

I refrained from picnicking as I had a very copious breakfast, but did really enjoy the wine tasting and talking to the vintners.  We couldn’t resist stopping a Maria Cuny’s miniscule boutique and cave to pick up a bottle of the melon and her chardonnay, both obviously made with love.

She said she never has gone to sell any of her wines at the Salon de Vin Independent, where I religiously buy most of my wines, because she never has enough to sell.  She married into the vines so to speak, and now as taken over in all area of wine making.

Before heading back down, I reentered the church to take more photographs of the many wonderful sculpted carvings that adorn the tops of the massive pillars.  Some are said to have  mystical associations, like the Mystic Mill and there is lettering and signs sometimes seen in Masonry.

In addition to the significance of the saint’s relic, the Basilica is considered a masterpiece of Romanesque Roman architecture  and the little village of Vezelay literally reeks of charm!

The abbey was constructed on top of the hill in 858 by the Benedictines and the current basilica was renovated by 1861 by Viollet le Duc, who also had his hand in restoring Notre Dame In Paris.  The original crypt remains intact, where the relics are kept, except for the processions.

The very mottled and pitted marble floor makes for difficult footing, but I enjoyed admiring the faded fresco painted on the small gothic ceiling and the overall impressive energy given off.  The Basilica has for centuries been a source of mystery around the strange carvings in the wooden doors and the sculpted carvings.

Given that the whole area was at one time inhabited by Templiers, or Knights Templars, forerunners of modern Masonry, this is not surprising.  The master builders of the church were astutely aware of the cosmological arrangements of planets,  various constellations,and the seasonal solstices.

At noon on the summer solstice, the sun shines directly in amazing mathematical precision down the center of the nave.  Those ancient church architects and builders apparently placed much significance in the spiritual connection  to the sun, moon and astrological configurations in the night sky.

Additionally the abbey church was built with the knowledge that there were energy lines that belie phreatic water sources, that do intersect at the upper right of the nave by the altar,  under a dolmen, near the original crypt below.  It makes sense that they have placed the small chapel dedicated to Mary Magdalene there, were the magnetic force is the strongest on July 22 and where miracle healings occurred.

With all the marvelous mysteries awaiting discovery in the universe, I would like to think that we can find Divine inspiration and tremendous spiritual affinity to all that surrounds us in our natural world.  After all, physicality is an illusion, needed for us earth bound beings, who have forgotten from where we originated.

Having said that, Burgundy offers many sensations to delight our own human physicality, especially in food and wines!  Actually, I had first discovered  Vezelay in 2005 as a side event to a trip I arranged specifically to dine at one of France’s most renown restaurants, L’Espérance, under the skilled hand of Marc Meneau.

Besides the marvelous cuisine, I remember his friendliness and the staff bringing an exquisite small upholstered cushioned bed for my beloved doggie, Potiron to recline on while we ate.

Very sadly, the restaurant recently closed due to being hit by the financial crisis plaguing a lot of the bastions of gastronomy.  Located in the tiny village just below, Saint Pere, I caught a glimpse  of chef Meneau as I passed by, just outside the locked gates and felt sad for his loss. 

I chose to stay in the very same Hotel Moulin Des Templiers that I had chosen before because I love the bucolic location by a rustling river.  It is heavenly to me, to go to sleep hearing the rushing water as it constantly falls from the rocks into the river stream.

A lovely breakfast is served outside in warm weather just beside the river, which I enjoyed sharing some left over jam with an innocuous sugar bee, that you see in French country bakeries.

In a nearby village is the beautiful château  Vault de Lugny, where you can stay in more luxurious surroundings, if you can do without the rushing stream, as there is only a very quiet moat to behold!

The best meal of this trip was the Michelin noted Auberge des Chenêts just down the road from the château.  It is a perfect example of a country French restaurant where you can enjoy magnificently prepared meals for a fraction of the costs one pays in Paris.   Chef Gilot offers several four and five course menus from 27 euros and up.  I would say there is a mix of classical Burgundian dishes such as oeufs(poached eggs) a la meurette, which I enjoyed as a first course, swimming in a rich red Burgundy sauce, and more creative offerings such as an escabeche(marinated raw) of sweet filets of sardines on a bed of tomatoes and lemon confit.

The cheese trolley of over 2o cheeses was difficult to choose from, as you can only eat so much cheese after tucking in already 3 courses.  My favourite Burgundy cheeses this trip were the orange crusted melt in your mouth ,  Époisses (always a favourite), a semi hard one from the abbey of Citeaux, and a rich Delice de Bourgogne.

To my tastes, the wines of Vezelay, whose whites pale in contrast to the robust perfumes and bodies of a premier cru Chablis from the village of Chablis just north,  are very mineral in general and lacked the perfume I crave. You will find though most of the wonderful wines, both red and white,  that have put Burgundy on the royal wine map, if you don’t mind paying over the moon restaurant prices for liquid joy.

Frankly, in regional restaurants, I prefer to drink the “little” wines of the region, difficult to find in Paris,  and buy my most sought after wines directly from the vintner to take  home.   This certainly is a lot of fun and makes for an interesting time in exploring the wine treasures of Burgundy.

The majority of the magnificently famous and powerfully perfumed reds and whites are south around Beaune, about an hour and 20 minutes drive from Avallon, the larger city nearby.  Chablis, Vezelay and Auxerre are more known for their white wines than red, though there are pleasant reds to be found also.

All of this beautiful countryside, gastronomy and wines, only about  2 and a half hour drive south from Paris is a big plus, because it makes for a perfect two day getaway.  Yes, I’ll take bucolic Burgundy any day!

Though the procession was not as big and grand as La Sainte Baume Saint Maximin, my pilgrimage there was very sweet and spiritually meaningful to me.  Being out in the country with the rustling river stream and fresh air whistling amongst the vines was just what I needed too!

Mary Magdalene’s inspiration and spirit can be anywhere where you look for her of course, but considering she spent the rest of her years high up in an isolated grotto at La Sainte Baume, I like to think she can be happily celebrated and honoured high up the hill in the magnificent Basilica of  Vezelay as well!