Sanctuaire de Notre-Dame du Bout-du-Puy, sanctuary in Valentine, France
The sanctuaire de Notre-Dame du Bout-du-Puy is a small religious site on a hill southeast of Valentine, France, reached by a winding stone path. The chapel has a simple old style, with a porch sheltering a wooden statue of Mary holding Jesus, and around it are open views over fields and the town below.
A small wooden shelter for shepherds stood on this hill before the first chapel was built in the late 1600s, after a plague had struck the region. That chapel was torn down in 1794 during the French Revolution, and a replacement dedicated to Notre-Dame de Pitié was raised during the 1800s.
Walkers stop along the path at small stone markers showing scenes from the life of Jesus, each one a place to pause and think. Under the chapel porch, people often light candles near the wooden Pietà and sit quietly for a moment.
The path up the hill is gentle and short, so most people can walk it without trouble. Wearing sturdy shoes helps because the stone surface can be uneven in places.
The carved Pietà under the porch is only a copy, made from apple wood by a local artist in 2004. The older original is kept safely elsewhere by a local group, so few visitors realize they are looking at a recent work.
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