Sanctuary of Sainte-Baume, Gothic church and mountain cave complex in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, France.
The sanctuary comprises a limestone cave in the Sainte-Baume mountains and a Gothic basilica measuring 73 meters long, 37 meters wide, and 29 meters tall. The basilica rises with tall pointed arches and narrow windows over the town, while the cave lies higher up in the wooded slope.
Construction of the basilica began in 1295 after King Charles II ordered excavations that uncovered remains believed to belong to Mary Magdalene in 1279. The Dominicans took charge of the sanctuary and expanded it over the following centuries.
The crypt keeps four marble sarcophagi from the 4th century and holds a reliquary containing the skull of a Mediterranean woman, as experts confirm. This reliquary has drawn pilgrims for centuries who come to pray in quiet devotion.
The basilica opens daily from 10 AM to noon and 1 PM to 6 PM, offering guided tours and monthly organ concerts from May through October. The climb to the cave takes about an hour on a rocky path through the forest.
A crystal tube in the reliquary holds a fragment called Noli me tangere, reportedly from the spot where Christ touched Mary Magdalene during the Resurrection. The cave itself still shows traces of medieval pilgrim visits carved into the walls.
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