“My name is Marie-Louise. I live in Central France, Loiret, but my birthplace is Martinique.” Marie-Louise, who came to the Montligeon shrine for All Saints’ Day, said in confidence that she lost her husband two and a half years ago. His ashes are buried in Martinique. Unable to pay her respects near his grave, she chose to visit this unique place: “It’s a great holy shrine for the deceased, a privileged place of prayer.”
Prayer and offering
Marie-Louise came with her sister and discovered the festivities of All Saints Day in Montligeon. In her culture, this day remains a highlight. “All Saints Day in Martinique is memorable. We pray for all the deceased, our parents, our brothers and sisters.”
For this native of Martinique, travelling to Montligeon was a whole adventure: “I drove to Montargis, then Paris, then we took the train and bus with my sister. But when I got there, I said to myself that it was really worth it to travel all that distance.” All Saints’ Day at Montligeon thus takes the form of a concrete pilgrimage, where the road itself becomes all prayer and offering.
A living liturgy
At Montligeon, the intensity she describes was present, but in a new form. All Saints’ Day celebrations at the shrine are marked by the universal prayer for the dead and by powerful symbolic gestures. Marie-Louise vividly remembers the candlelight procession: “When our little candles were placed in front of the altar, I was deeply moved. It reminded me of Montargis, but here it was even more impressive.”
Actually, All Saints’ Day at Montligeon is far more than just a visit to the cemetery. It becomes a living liturgy, a moment of communion with the whole Church – visible and invisible.
Connecting with the deceased
Coming to Montligeon meant something really special for Marie-Louise. Her husband had been cremated and his ashes are buried in Martinique. “As I am not able to go there often, Montligeon became a place for me to connect with him and get close to him by thought and prayer,” she explains.
This experience reveals an essential aspect of the holy place. It has the ability to offer a space for prayer to people who have no accessible grave, or who live far from the deceased members of their family. Montligeon thus becomes a kind of spiritual cemetery, a place of remembrance and consolation.
“Here, I found much more than a mass. There’s a whole atmosphere before and after the celebrations, which makes for a real pilgrimage,” says Marie-Louise confidently.
Like Marie-Louise, come and discover Montligeon as a privileged place of prayer for the departed. The PIlgrimage of Heaven is an opportunity to entrust your departed loved ones, to experience rich liturgies and to find living hope in the midst of mourning.
