Church of Notre-Dame-des-Vertus, Aubervilliers, Renaissance church in Aubervilliers, France
The Church of Notre-Dame-des-Vertus is a Renaissance building featuring a square tower reaching about 100 feet high, constructed in 1541. A classical facade was added later, giving the structure its current appearance.
A church dedicated to both Saint Christopher and Notre-Dame already existed on this site in the early 1200s. The current structure evolved over centuries through repeated rebuilding and expansion projects.
The annual pilgrimage from the Basilica of Saint-Denis to Notre-Dame-des-Vertus follows a devotion attested since 1338, when the celebration was held on the second Tuesday of May; the current procession takes place on 1 May. In 1452 Cardinal Guillaume d'Estouteville granted indulgences to visitors, later extended by Pope Paul V.
The building is located on rue de la Commune de Paris and is easily accessible from the town center. A major restoration in the 2010s significantly improved both the structure and interior condition.
The 1336 event was not a weeping statue: during a drought, a girl praying before the Virgin saw moisture run down the statue's face while rain fell on the market gardens of the Plaine des Vertus. A stained-glass window in the north aisle depicts the scene, with villagers watching the statue as rain reaches the crops.
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