This Church is Perched on the Tip of a Needle

I have to say that this church is one of the most fascinating houses of worship I have ever seen. It is called St. Michael of the Needle (Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe in French).

Sometimes it is translated as “on the Needle” because the church is perched on the tip of a large sliver of volcanic rock that juts straight out of the earth in the southeastern section of France (Region of Auvergne).

Numerous basaltic rock “needles,” as they are called, emerged about 6000 years ago as geological spikes piercing the earth when the massive tectonic plates in the region shifted and formed the Chaînes des Puys mountain range. As mountain ranges go, it’s small – only a 25-mile N-S chain – but it surely left its mark on the landscape.

The needle has a flat top of 187 feet in diameter, which is not a lot of space on which to build a church. (That fact would become clear if you stepped out to 188 feet and dropped off a sheer cliff!)

Speaking of which, the needle stands at 279 feet, and if you have the energy, you can climb the 268 steps to the top. Sorry, no elevators.

The Romans saw its religious potential first. They built an ancient temple to Mercury on the same needle top. The Catholic cathedral that is there now incorporated a few of the temple’s stones in its construction. The rest of the building materials they had to haul up there by hard labor.

The Church of St. Michael was constructed in the year 969 AD at the order of the local bishop. It is nestled in a valley right next to another, even higher and larger needle that now displays the massive 52-foot statue of Our Lady of France (erected in 1860) overlooking the modern-day cathedral and city below it.

The needle church, to this day, remains one of the stop-off points for pilgrims from Europe making their way through France to the famous shrine of the Apostle James (Santiago de Compostela) on the western coast of Spain.

In fact, it is said that St. Joan of Arc’s own mother, Isabelle Romee, visited the site and prayed in this church.

That’s reason enough for me to go there and pray!

—

Photo Credits via Wikimedia: W. Bulach, Pedelecs at wikivoyage, Selbymay, Brunodumaine/interior, PinkH, and Espirat.