Notre Dame de la Guerison sanctuary

Notre-dame de la Guérison is a Christian sanctuary situated in the municipality of Courmayeur, at the foot of Mont Chétif, along the Val Veny road that leads to the Colle della Seigne Pass, also known as the Cremonis Iugum (Cremona Pass) used by the Romans in order to reach Gaul.^[1]

It is well-known both in Italy and abroad, not only because of the surrounding landscape, but because it is very easy to reach by car from May to November and above all, is situated very close to an internationally famous tourist resort, Courmayeur. The first exact dates regarding the place go back to 8 May 1537, when the name Berrier, the name by which the sanctuary was called, appears in a donation document. This word has Celtic origins and means “a pile of large rocks”. Around 1690 a statue of the Virgin in a protective niche was placed here. This miraculous statue became the object of a legal dispute among the priest, the diocesan administration and a Courmayeur family which resulted in the destruction of the place of worship

The building was first re-built in 1781 by Jean-Michel Truchet and the chapel was consecrated in 1792. But the Brenva glacier, which had been expanding since 1800, shifted the moraine that surrounded the sanctuary, causing it to collapse. On 22 May 1821 it was decided to rebuild the chapel once more, and in 1840 a room for the caretaker was added—Laurent Girard, known for being one of the last Aosta Valley hermits.

An increase in devotees lead to inept extension works in 1850 making the chapel unstable and subject to infiltration, so that “when it rains or snows, the wall next to the rock leaks and the chapel turns into a small lake”

“quand il tombait de la pluie, et à la fonte des neiges, la muraille du midi, du côté du rocher, laissait entrer l’eau de toutes parts et la chapelle devenait un petit lac”.^{[citation needed]}.

The present building, erected by the entrepreneur Filippo Franchini between 1867 and 1869, is characterized by a neo-Classical style, measures slightly more than 100 sq. metres and has a Latin cross plan. In the first half of the 20th century some rooms were added for the priest, as well as a gallery to hold the votive offerings.

The arches and walls of the sanctuary are covered with a cycle of frescoes, and three oils on canvas by the painter Giuseppe Stornone. This artist, who specialized in religious paintings of large dimension as well as vast cycles of frescoes, was influenced by the Italian baroque style.

Many of the votive offerings refer to alpinists who have escaped danger while climbing Mont Blanc or crossing many of its passes. There is a silver miniature model of the ship “Stella Polare” which took the first Italian expedition to the North Pole. The survivors brought the model as a gift on 23 June 1901 to Our Lady the Healer who had protected the dangerous expedition. Pope John-Paul II^[2] and Pope Benedict XVI, during their summer holidays in Aosta Valley, visited the sanctuary on many occasions.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ http://www.regione.vda.it/turismo/scopri/cultura/chiese/notre_dame_guerison_e.asp
2. ^ http://www.hotelboutondor.com/eng/religious