Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-de-Consolation

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

The site of the sanctuary of Notre-Dame-de-Consolation, on the Costebelle hill at Hyères, has been occupied since the Iron Age, with remains of an oppidum dating from the 6th to 4th century before Christ. The legend of its foundation is linked to the seventh crusade, when Hyères mothers, anxious for the fate of their sons who had gone to war, promise to build a sanctuary if their children return safe and sound. In 1254, their wish granted, a sanctuary was said to have been erected in honour of Notre-Dame-de-Consolation. The sanctuary is first mentioned in 1395 as a possession of the chartreuse of Montrieux. Notre-Dame-de-Consolation is regularly invoked in the face of plagues that affect the community such as droughts or epidemics (plagues, cholera, etc.). Important pilgrimages regularly organised mobilise the entire community and beyond. In the modern period, the growth in the number of pilgrims necessitates the installation of a religious congregation in support of the prior. It is at the origin of modifications, in particular the addition of aisles and the construction of outbuildings. It is part of the rare Marian sanctuaries of Hyères to survive the French Revolution. From the beginning of the 19th century, worship is restored, restoration work is undertaken, followed by a modernisation project in 1860, which saw the addition of a new façade and an esplanade. During the Second World War, the sanctuary is occupied by Italian then German troops who mine the site in spring 1944. At the landing of 15 August, the occupier makes the bell tower explode which collapses on the building, leaving only a few remains. The mobilisation of the community and mayor Joseph Clotis allows this building to be included in the Reconstruction programme. Architect Raymond Vaillant is tasked with rebuilding the whole. When the project for identical reconstruction is abandoned, he conceives a contemporary project to which important artists of the renewal of sacred art are called upon. The stained glass windows are entrusted to Gabriel Loire and the sculptures to Jean Lambert-Rucki. The concrete sculptures of the latter provoke, from 1953, violent criticism from the clergy who judge them inappropriate for a sacred building. After some modifications of these sculptures, the whole is inaugurated in July 1955. The sanctuary is composed of a chapel with a bell tower, surrounded by outbuildings organised around a patio. It is built essentially in stone with the exception of the structures which are in reinforced concrete. The chapel presents a nave, bordered by a side aisle, which leads to a choir housed in a semi-circular apse, while the outbuildings house dwellings, a shop and meeting spaces. The main façade is adorned with sculptures by Jean Lambert-Rucki on a lace of concrete which has the dual function of serving as a structure for the stained glass windows of Gabriel Loire and as a backdrop for polychromatic sculptural decor. A large Virgin and Child at the base of the bell tower completes the whole. Inside, the stained glass windows of the chapel which occupy a central place in the interior decoration, illustrate Marian themes and the history linked to devotion to Notre-Dame-de-Consolation. The choir is adorned with bas-reliefs representing the Eucharist, while the side aisle presents a reredos, both executed by Lambert-Rucki.