Grotte Notre-Dame du Mont d’Iges

The story of the Notre-Dame du Mont d'Iges grotto began in 1877, when Father Olivier inaugurated the first pilgrimage dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes in the Sedan region at Villette. Faced with the growing number of faithful, his successor, Father Champeaux, decided to go further and had an exact replica of the Massabielle grotto built on the Iges peninsula, in the heart of a former quarry bordering the Meuse River. 
It was Mr. Tatoux and his workers, specialists in rockwork, who created the structure after having gone to Lourdes to draw up exact plans of the original grotto. Construction was completed in 1921 and the grotto was blessed the same year. Twelve years later, in 1933, the Stations of the Cross were also blessed, thus completing the site in its current form. 
The site is also distinguished by the quality of its sculptural elements: the cast iron statues, commissioned from the Raffl workshops in Paris and the Vaucouleurs foundry, testify to the care taken in its creation and the artisanal know-how of the time. 
Gradually integrated into the landscape of the peninsula, the cave has become over the decades a place for contemplation and walking, rooted in local memory.