Since it was founded in 1998, the Association has sought to renew the links between Mont-Saint-Michel and other major shrines dedicated to the Archangel, such as Monte Gargano in Italy and St Michael's Mount in England.
The cult of the Archangel spread throughout Europe, leaving its mark on the architecture of monuments and the landscape. Numerous altars and churches were dedicated to him in France, Belgium, England, Spain and Italy, and throughout Europe as far afield as Ireland and Russia. The presence of these places of worship is generally attested to on exceptional elevated sites capable of capturing the human imagination. The Archangel's "aerial" cult has often been mentioned.
Halfway between heaven and earth, the Archangel Michael, whose name in Hebrew means "Who is like God", is the ideal intermediary between God and man. The protector and defender of all peoples, he is also the one who guides the poor souls of the dead into the divine light and presides over the weighing of souls at the Last Judgement. As the Angel of Light, he is the one who slays the dragon of the Apocalypse. Saint Michael has thus established himself on the highest peaks, closer to heaven and closer to God.
Since 1999, a signposted path (Pilgrim Trail) links Winchester Cathedral with Mont-Saint-Michel, via Portsmouth and the ferry to Cherbourg or Caen-Ouistreham. The Rouen Route now extends to the Hauts de France, starting in front of Amiens Cathedral and eventually reaching Northern Europe via Arras and Brussels. The definition of the Monte Gargano Route is currently being finalised by Chartres, Orléans, Nevers, Lyon and Chambéry. Medium-term projects are multiplying, notably towards Saint-Nicolas-de-Port and Strasbourg, and beyond towards Germany. The Chemins du Mont work with other European cultural pilgrimage routes (Compostelle, Tours, Via Francigena, etc.) and are members of the French Federation of European Cultural Routes (FEE)
From now on, a network of waymarked paths will link the Norman sanctuary to other sanctuaries and regions. A Saint-Michel Way has been defined from Mont-Cenis to Lyon and a GR has been created from Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe to Ebreuil, to extend the GR 300 and beyond to Tours via the GR 46 and then the "Grand Chemin montois" from Tours to Mont. This route was inaugurated on 4 October 2019. The application is available to download Information on the digital guide
From 1998 to 2013, the Association built up an informal but fruitful network of European partners and carried out a large number of activities on a European scale: mainly in England, Italy and Spain, but also in other French regions (Auvergne, Savoie, Languedoc, etc.). This European activity was recognised in 2007 when it was awarded the title of "Cultural Route of the Council of Europe". This title was withdrawn in 2011 by the Institut des Itinéraires culturels de Luxembourg, which wanted a federal status with a specific budget.
In October 2013, in Caen, at the conclusion of the "Rencontres européennes des sites et des Chemins de saint Michel", organised by the Association, the statutes of the new federation of sites and paths of Saint-Michel were agreed. The head office of the new European association is at the Maison de l'Europe in Paris, and its current president is Michel Roussel, mayor of Aiguilhe (Haute-Loire). This European network brings together the associations of The Mont-Saint-Michel trailand The Saint Michael's Way in Savoie, d'Around Saint-Michel d'Aiguilheand Friends of Saint-Michel de Cuxàthe municipality of Aiguilhe, the Brotherhood of San Miguel de Aralar (Navarre), Italian associations Le Vie di San Michele (Lombardy) and I Cammini di San Michele (Marche), municipalities in Spain (Sant Miquel de Fluvia, Catalonia) and Italy (Sant Ambrogio di Torino)
In 2019, this network led to the signing of a cooperation agreement between various LAGs to develop the sites and paths of Saint-Michel.
report
Thanks to the friendship forged with the French associations of the Friends of Santiago, three routes linking Mont-Saint-Michel to Compostela have been opened with double signposting, and other fruitful collaborations have been forged in Picardy, Eure-et-Loir, Loiret, Vendée and Bordeaux....