Michaels sites

Other French sites

Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm (Vendée) - This abbey was founded by a bishop of Poitiers at the end of the 7th century, on the rocky islet of Vieux-Condet overlooking the marshy areas of the Gulf of the Pictons. At the end of the 10th century, after destruction caused by Viking raids, the abbey was restored in 960 by Ebbes, bishop of Limoges, who retired there and directed the work until his death in 990. The Romanesque church was consecrated in 1027. Due to its strategic importance, the site has often been disputed over the centuries, with numerous modifications and reconstructions. The current complex dates from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Saint-Angel (Corrèze) - The priory of Saint-Michel-des-Anges gave its name to the village in Correze where it was founded in Carolingian times. The priory is known for its donation to the Poitevin abbey of Charroux in the will of its founder at the end of the 8th century. Situated on a rocky knoll with steep slopes, the site is isolated and was fortified as early as the Middle Ages; in the 9th century, it was already referred to as the "monasterium et castrum sancti Angeli" (monastery and castle of Saint Angel), in keeping with the tradition of Michaels sites, which were very often fortified due to their strategic location, but were also frequently disrupted due to the importance of their role.

Saint-Mihiel (Meuse) - According to an 11th-century chronicle, the powerful Lorraine abbey of Saint-Mihiel owes its creation to the misadventure of a pilgrim returning from Monte Gargano. In 709 - the year the Mount was founded - Wulfoad, an Austrasian nobleman, stopped off with relics brought back from the Archangel's grotto, but he was unable to take them back. Bowing to the miracle, he decided to found an abbey. The original site was at the top of a nearby mountain, but the community moved to the banks of the Meuse at the beginning of the 9th century, and the monastic settlement is the origin of today's town.

Aiguilhe (Haute-Loire), Rocher Saint-Michel - Spectacularly built at the top of a volcanic peak overlooking a suburb of Le Puy-en-Velay, the chapel was founded in 962 by Truannus, dean of the chapter of Le Puy-en-Velay, and given to the cathedral chapter. Truannus had a 220-step staircase carved out of the rock to reach the platform where the sanctuary was built. Three oratories, dedicated to Raphael, Gabriel and Saint Dignefort, marked out the ascent. Several grottoes were dug along the staircase, probably to shelter the devotion of the faithful. Visited by poor pilgrims and sovereigns passing through Le Puy, the chapel became the focus of a major pilgrimage, probably closely linked to the success of the pilgrimage to the Virgin of Le Puy. Very early on, a community of hermits settled at the foot of the rock, and took the name of Séguret Abbey, serving a hospital for pilgrims and burying the poor. The monument is famous for the majesty of its site, the boldness of its construction, the quality of its Romanesque architecture with its sculptures and murals, and for the precious Romanesque reliquaries found in the altar a few years ago.

Saint-Michel de Cuxà Abbey (Pyrénées-Orientales) - Situated at the foot of the Canigou mountains, the abbey was founded in 840 and was originally dedicated to Saint Andrew, while the church was dedicated to Saint Germain. It was not until 974, at the consecration of the abbey church, sumptuously rebuilt by Abbot Garin, that it was placed under the sole invocation of Saint Michael. At that time, the treasury already contained a fragment of the Archangel's cloak, probably from Monte Gargano, which may explain the change of dedication. A few years later, just after the year 1000, the three-aisled church was further enlarged by Abbot Oliba, who surrounded the flat apse with an ambulatory, increased the number of radiating chapels to seven and added a large rotunda to the west of the church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This Marian sanctuary had several levels, with a crypt dedicated to Notre-Dame-de-la-Crèche and an upper level to the Trinity. This choice is undoubtedly a reference to the rotunda at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and also reflects the influence of Carolingian architecture and liturgy. As at Saint-Bénigne in Dijon, built a few years earlier, the archangel Saint Michael protected the Virgin Mary through the proximity of their respective altars. In Cuxà, in the middle of the 11th century, this topography inspired the monk Garsias in one of his sermons: "In front of the Queen is the terrible Michael, as if to protect her".

 Puy-Saint-Michel (Creuse, Saint-Aignan-près-Crocq) - Situated at an altitude of 824 m at the top of a forest, the chapel is believed to have been built by Guillaume d'Aubusson, Lord of Le Theil, in the 15th century. In the 19th century, it still attracted crowds sometimes estimated at ten or twelve thousand people for the festival on 29 September. A Saint-Michel fountain below the chapel was a favourite spot for pilgrims.

Saverne (Bas-Rhin) "Mont Saint-Michel" - In 1593, the old Saint-Michel chapel overlooking Saverne was rebuilt and a Saint-Michel brotherhood, closely linked to the development of a pilgrimage to the Archangel, was founded the same year. Until the end of the 18th century, a hermit lived in the grotto beneath the chapel, providing a religious presence at this much-frequented shrine.24 m)

Curienne (Savoie), cSaint-Michel chapel - Situated at the summit of Mont Saint-Michel overlooking the town of Chambéry, the Saint-Michel chapel, which can still be seen today, was built at the end of the 19th century.^e The chapel, built in the 18th century (1879), is the successor to a medieval building, the remains of which were excavated a few years ago. From time immemorial, the chapel was the centre of a pilgrimage to the Archangel.

OTHER MICHAELIC SITES IN EUROPE

 ITALY

Monte Gargano (Puglia) - Located in the south of the Italian peninsula, Monte Gargano is one of the most famous pilgrimage shrines of medieval Christianity. It is the oldest place of worship to Saint Michael in the West (V^e In the 16th century, according to tradition, the Archangel appeared and asked for a shrine to be built in his honour in this remote grotto.
Visited by kings, emperors and popes long before the year 1000, the cave attracted pilgrims from all over Europe (Franks, Germans, Saxons, Scandinavians, etc.) and became the model for a large number of sanctuaries, including Mont-Saint-Michel itself. Even today, the cave attracts large numbers of pilgrims and is a major centre of Michaelic worship. www.comune.monte-sant-angelo.fg.it   www.gargano.it/sanmichele

 Monte Tancia (Lazio) - The cave chapel dedicated to Saint Michael is located halfway up Monte Tancia (1282 m) and probably replaced a pre-Christian place of worship. The first mention of the cave dates back to 774, when the Duke of Spoleto donated the woods and church of Monte Tancia to the Abbey of Farfa. According to the Revelatio ... in Monte Tanciamanuscript from XII^e In the 16th century, the Archangel is said to have appeared there to slay the dragon that was residing there. The site has retained the marks of the battle, becoming a shrine of pilgrimage to the Archangel from that time onwards.

 Olevano sul Tusciano (Campania) - Overlooking the Gulf of Sorrento, at an altitude of more than 600 metres and in a site that is difficult to access, the grotto of Saint Michael on Monte Aureo owes its foundation, according to legend, to an apparition of Saint Michael to a hermit called Catellus, who asked that a place of worship be built for him there. The shrine was visited by the monk Bernard on his return from the Holy Land in the 9th century.^e century, before completing his pilgrimage to Mont-Saint-Michel. There he saw a crypt with seven altars and a large forest above. This cave contains several chapels built within it, the first and largest being the one dedicated to the Angel, known for its pre-Romanesque frescoes.

Monte Faito in Vico Equense (Campania) - Castellamare de Stabies, Here too, the Archangel is said to have appeared, asking that a sanctuary be built for him on the summit of the mountain (IX^e century?)

Rome, Castel Sant'Angelo – This site has been closely associated with the cult of Saint Michael ever since the Archangel appeared above what was Hadrian's mausoleum, sheathing his sword to signal to Pope Gregory the Great the end of the plague that struck the Eternal City in 590. A statue of Saint Michael (XVIII^e century) still crowns the monument. Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant'Angelo www.castelsantangelo.com

 Pavia (Lombardy), Basilica of San Michele Maggiore - Former palatine church of the Lombard sovereigns, mentioned as early as the 7th century^e The present building was rebuilt in Romanesque style from the end of the 11th century.^e century. Pavia was the crowning place of the kings of Italy, the capital of the Lombard kingdom and then of the kingdom of Italy, and closely associated with royal power. It is also a major monument, emblematic of Lombard Romanesque art, with remarkable sculpted, painted and mosaic decoration.

Sacra di San Michele (Piedmont) - Just outside the Alps, between the Col du Mont-Cenis and Turin, in the Val di Susa, the Sacra di San Michele stands majestically on a mountain overlooking the Via Francigena, used by pilgrims and travellers between France and Italy. The first community of hermits on this mountain was succeeded around 983 by a Benedictine monastery founded by Hugues de Montboissier, a nobleman from Auvergne, on his return from a pilgrimage to Rome. These spectacular 11th- and 12th-century buildings, standing atop the rock and often emerging from the mists of the valley, were an important centre of pilgrimage to the Archangel. Since 1836, the Rosminian fathers, called by the Savoy family, have maintained a spiritual life on the summit of the mountain, welcoming the faithful who come to pray to the Archangel. Today, the Sacra di San Michele is also an important tourist and cultural site in the Piedmont region. Open to visitors, it regularly hosts events (exhibitions, conferences, etc.). Official website of La Sacra di San Michele. To help the Rosminian fathers welcome visitors and maintain the sanctuary, a number of enthusiastic volunteers have come together to form the Associazione Volontari Sacra di San Michele.

SPAIN

San Miguel in Excelsis (Uharte Arakil, Navarre) - The Romanesque church of San Miguel de Aralar stands at an altitude of 1,237 metres on the summit of Mount Aralar. It is the successor to a hermitage dedicated to the Archangel, to which a hospice for pilgrims was attached. According to tradition, a Navarrese knight who had committed parricide was condemned by the Pope to wander the mountains in heavy chains until the day when they fell off by themselves; he defeated a dragon thanks to the intervention of the Archangel Michael, founded a chapel there and settled there as a hermit. His chains are still on display in the Romanesque chapel built around 1100. Set in unspoilt countryside and fabulous landscapes, the site retains a special evocative power; it is still a place of pilgrimage to the Archangel. A spiritual Mecca in Navarre, it also occupies a special place in the hearts of the people of Navarre: the reliquary statue in vermeil of Saint Michael displaying the Holy Cross is the object of great devotion.
The chapel, which is supported by the Saint-Michel brotherhood, is a popular destination for tourists, walkers and pilgrims, who take a wide variety of routes to get there. It stands on an ancient site on the Roman road from Bordeaux to Astorga, where the original route to Santiago passed. In fact, this sanctuary and its surroundings are an important link in the network connecting Northern Europe to Santiago de Compostela and all the routes that cross the Iberian Peninsula.

Sant Miquel del Fai (Catalonia) - In an exceptional setting of ponds, waterfalls, caves and troglodyte dwellings, the priory seems to hang in the void, leaning against the cliff amidst waterfalls. This rock chapel was first mentioned in 997, when the Count of Barcelona donated the estate to found a priory, which in 1042 became part of the important Abbey of Saint-Victor in Marseille. It is now a nature park, Espai Natural dels Cingles de Bertí. www.santmiqueldelfai.net

Lillo (Asturias), cSan Miguel Chapel - Unesco World Heritage Site. Palatine Chapel, located on the southern slopes of Mount Naranco at an altitude of 373 m, built in 848 by King Ramiro I.^erto whom the archangel had brought victory on several occasions. The western part of the chapel has been preserved, with its three naves and the royal gallery. The original sculpted decoration reveals a strong Byzantine and Lombard influence.

 San Miguel de Escalada, municipality of Notes (Leon) - Visigothic chapel of Saint-Michel, restored in the early 9th century^e The new abbey was consecrated in 913 and adopted the Benedictine rule in the 11th century.^e century, gallery of horseshoe arches on the south side, horseshoe-plan east chapels, strong Mozarabic and Visigothic influences. The famous Beatus de Liebana (commentaries on the Apocalypse of Saint John) was produced in the 10th century.^e century in this abbey (now preserved at the Metropolitan Museum in New York).

 GERMANY

 Bamberg (Bavaria, Lower Franconia), Michaelsberg or Mont Saint-Michel - Unesco World Heritage Site since 1983. Benedictine abbey founded in 1015 by Emperor Henry II, in his new bishopric. The abbey church dates from the XI^e-XIII^e centuries and the convent buildings from the XVIII^e century. The abbey now houses a beer museum (beer has been brewed at the abbey since the 12th century).^e century). The Old Town of Bamberg is a remarkable example of a Central European town built according to an early medieval plan. It made history when Emperor Henry II (1002-1024) founded a new diocese and made Bamberg one of the main centres of his empire (the other being Rome). Henry II venerated Saint Michael and had made pilgrimages to Monte Gargano. In 1015, he consecrated the new abbey and a chapel in the cathedral to the Archangel. Today, the cloister and convent buildings are in the Baroque style. The city still boasts a considerable number of monuments built between the 11th and 12th centuries.^e and the XVIII^e century, creating a synthesis between medieval churches and Baroque palaces. The city's architecture had a major influence on an area stretching from central Germany to Hungary. The city boasts an extremely varied architectural ensemble, including the cathedral, the Alte Hofhaltung (originally the imperial palace), the Böttinger palace, the old town hall (surrounded on all sides by the river) and the old fishermen's houses of "Little Venice".

Hildesheim (Lower Saxony), Saint-Michel Abbey  – Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. Built around the year 1000 and consecrated in 1026, this abbey is famous for its Ottonian architecture and its famous bronze doors dating from the 11th century.^e The city has been a university town since the Middle Ages. St Michael's Church, built between 1010 and 1022 by Bishop Bernward, is regarded today as a key monument of medieval architecture. Together with the cathedral and its treasury, a unique collection of medieval art has been preserved in Hildesheim. www.hildesheim.de

 Fulda (Lower Saxony), Abbey of Saint Michael - One of the oldest abbeys in Germany, it is the site of the tomb of Saint Boniface, apostle of Germania in the 8th century.^e It is still the centre of an active pilgrimage to his tomb. There is also a Saint Boniface route from Mainz to Fulda (Bonifacius route). Michaelskirche (St Michael's Church) is said to be one of the oldest churches in Germany. It was built between 819 and 822 under Abbot Eigel, the 4^e abbot of the monastery at Fulda, as a chapel in the former cloister, on the site of the monks' cemetery. The first building was probably circular in plan, with a nave and crypt to the east (which has survived intact to the present day). The church of Saint-Michel and its Carolingian crypt, as one of the most significant and important sacred monuments of the Middle Ages. The interior of the church with its crypt and rotunda is very impressive. Fulda's origins lie in the Benedictine abbey founded in 744 on the orders of Boniface, in the immediate vicinity of two important trade routes. In the IX^e In the 19th century, the abbey became one of the most famous cultural centres in Central Europe. This is also reflected in the construction of the Basilica of Ratgar, the most imposing religious building north of the Alps. www.fulda.de

Siegburg (Westphalia), hasbbaye Saint-Michel - Benedictine abbey still in use (next to the former castle of the Counts of the Palatinate). Michaelsberg Benedictine Abbey belongs to the Subiaco Congregation. The monastery is located on Mount Saint Michael, 40 metres above the town of Siegburg. This is why it is also known as Siegburg Abbey. The hill known as Michaelsberg, originally known as Siegberg, was first inhabited around 800 AD by the Counts of Auelgau, who built a castle here. In 1064, Archbishop Anno II of Cologne founded a Benedictine monastery here, dedicated to the archangel Saint Michael, who gave his name to the mountain and the abbey. When Archbishop Anno died in 1075, he was buried in the abbey. He was later canonised, and in 1183 his remains were transferred to the "tomb of Anno", which can still be seen in the abbey church. In 1512, after a lengthy legal battle, the abbey was recognised as a "monastery". reichsunmittelbar (directly under the authority of the emperor and under no other authority). In 1676, the abbey again became dependent on local power. The abbey was dissolved during the secularisation of 1802-1803. From 1813 to 2 July 1914, the monastery was converted into barracks, a psychiatric hospital and a prison. In 1941, the abbey was dissolved by the SS. The buildings were completely destroyed by bombing in 1944 and rebuilt by the monks. Since 1504, the abbey's liqueur (Steiburger Abtei-Likör) has been produced, and since 2004 a beer called "Michel" has also been brewed at the abbey, where a religious community is still present. www.siegburg.de

Berg am Lain (Munich, Bavaria), église Saint-Michel - Built between 1735 and 1751 in the Rococo style for the Prince Bishop of Cologne, son of the Elector of Bavaria, who owned an estate in Berg am Laim. It houses the knights of the Order of Saint Michael and the Confrérie Saint-Michel, founded a few years earlier. This brotherhood had up to 100,000 members throughout southern Germany (including a large proportion of the nobility). Today, it has 800 members. A hospice dependent on the brotherhood has also been built. A parish church since 1801, it is still home to the Confraternity of Saint Michael under the direction of the parish priest (the Order of Saint Michael disappeared in 1918).

Bonnigheim (Baden-Wutembberg), cSaint-Michel chapel - A very old chapel located on the site of a pagan temple, it is mentioned in 793. The Capuchin convent was built on the site of a battle between Saint Michael and the dragon (according to legend, Saint Boniface was prevented from doing so by the devil. During a sermon, he called upon Saint Michael to help him and Satan ended up in the precipice). A feather of the Archangel, collected by Saint Boniface, was the object of a pilgrimage until the Reformation. www.bonnigheim.de

 Amoneburg (Hesse) - Saint-Michel chapel, built by Saint Boniface after an apparition of the Archangel. www.amoneburg.de

BELGIUM

Brussels – Saint Michael, patron saint of Brussels, is closely linked to the city's history and origins, Saint-Michel-au-Mont, The first sanctuary, destroyed several times during Scandinavian incursions into the region, was rebuilt and enlarged at the beginning of the 11th century.^e century by Lambert I^erThis church was dedicated to Saint Michael and erected as a collegiate church with twelve canons. This church, completed in 1097, was consecrated to Saint Michael and established as a collegiate church with twelve canons. However, from that time onwards, popular fervour combined the two names to designate the church that is now the cathedral of Saint-Michel-Sainte-Gudule in Brussels. Pilgrims flocked here in droves, just as they did at Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, so much so that the city's aldermen decided to have the effigy of the Archangel depicted on the city seal. Later, around 1220, Henry I^er de Barbant decided to further extend the church, following a plan similar to that of the present-day cathedral. In 1402, the aldermen had the foundations laid for a new town hall, and in 1449, at the top of its magnificent Gothic stone spire, almost 100 metres high, a statue of the city's patron saint was boldly placed, standing more than a metre tall! Badly damaged by the weather, the statue was restored several times and still today perpetuates the age-old tradition of the Archangel's protection over the great Belgian city that became the capital of Europe.

ENGLAND

St Mickael's Mount (Cornwall) - Located in the south-west of England, in Cornwall. The priory stands on a rock accessible only at low tide. And as at Mont, a legend tells of a forest submerged by the sea. According to tradition, Saint Michael appeared on the rock in 495, prompting the first pilgrimages. From the XI^e It was a dependency of the Norman abbey of Le Mont. In 1533, after the priory was abolished, King Edward VIII transformed the buildings into a fortress and granted it to one of his relatives. It has been the residence of an aristocratic family ever since, and is now open to visitors. Privately owned and managed by the National Trust     www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk

Glastonbury Tor (Somerset) - Saint-Michel (ruins), a monastery founded in 705 on an islet overlooking marshland, then converted into an abbey in the 10th century.^e century. A famous site linked to Arthurian legend, it is said that his tomb and that of Queen Guinevere were found here in the 12th century.^e In the 19th century, when the abbey was rebuilt, the complex played an important role in the collective imagination.

IRELAND

Skellig Mickael Islands (comté de Kerry) Unesco World Heritage Site (1996) - In the High Middle Ages, island missionaries helped spread the cult of Saint Michael across the continent and founded numerous settlements in his honour. In Ireland, the spectacular site of Skellig Michael - or Saint Michael's Rock - is a steep island where hermits prayed to the Archangel for several centuries. Situated around ten kilometres off the south-west coast of Ireland, on a rocky outcrop 218 metres above sea level and swept by winds from the Atlantic, the monastery founded in the seventh century was a place of pilgrimage.^e It is one of Ireland's most famous sites, and excavations carried out in 1955 revealed its history over the centuries. The most famous michaelic shrine on the island, it was the focus of a major pilgrimage that continued after the monks left for the mainland at the end of the 13th century.^e century. The island is now a nature reserve.

UKRAINE

Kiev, Saint-Michel-de-Vydoubytch monastery – Founded in 1070 by the Great Prince of Kiev Vsevolod I^er. It became the family monastery of his son Vladimir II and his descendants. Saint Michael's Cathedral, built between 1070 and 1088, stands next to Saint George's Cathedral, dating from the 18th century.^e century

POLAND

Krakow (site listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site). Site of the royal church of Saint-Michel (XI^e This church is associated with the royal palace, built at the origin of the town next to the cave of a legendary dragon defeated by an inhabitant who gave his name to the town. A second church, Saint-Michel, a few hundred metres away (Saint-Michel de Skalka), still exists and has kept its circular plan, but dates from the 18th century.^e century. The Wavel was the centre of political and religious power in Poland from the XI^e in the XVI^e The cathedral is Poland's royal necropolis and pantheon. The line with Saint Michael is less obvious today, but he was one of the founding elements of the Polish capital.

 CROATIA/MONTENEGRO

 Saint Michael of Prevlaka (formerly Saint Michael Island, Montenegro/Croatia) - Site of the Serbian Orthodox monastery on the Prevlaka peninsula, founded in 1219 by Saint Sava, on an earlier site (IX^e century). Destroyed in 1452, rebuilt from the 19th century onwards, reallocated to monastic life in 2000. Seat of the Metropolitan of Montenegro, near the town of Nivat, Bay of Kotor. A coastal zone of great strategic importance over the centuries and during the Balkan conflict, demilitarised under the 2002 agreement sponsored by the United Nations.

  Saint-Michel d'Ugljan (municipality of Przko, Croatia, island of the Zadar archipelago) - Monastery of Saint Michael of Prka (Prka National Park), Serbian Orthodox monastery, the best known in Croatia, founded in the 14th century.^e It was a victim of the 1992 war and has since been restored as a demilitarised zone. The caves on its site are believed to be the site where Saint Paul preached.

 NORTH MACEDONIA

Lesnovo - Located in the municipality of Probichtip on the southern slopes of the Osogovo mountain range. The monastery, which is still in use, was founded in the 11th century.^e century by the hermit Saint Gabriel of Lesnovo. The church was rebuilt in 1341 by the powerful Serbian knight Jovan Oliver, an influential member of the court of Emperor Stefan Dušan, and its frescoes, completed in 1349, form an ensemble. It was one of the main intellectual centres of the Slavic Orthodox Church in the Middle Ages, renowned for the quality of its copyists. Association Zletovica de Probištip, Aleksandar Mihajlovski, ✆ + 389 32 48 32 56, mihace@yahoo.com

 Chapel of Saint-Michel de Radozda - In the Gallicica National Park, a rock chapel set in the cliffs of the Jablanica massif overlooking the village of Radožda and Lake Ohrid. The date of its foundation is not known, but it houses a series of frescoes dating from the 14th century.^e century, which are among the last works of the Ohrid school of painters before the Ottoman invasion, and a nearby sanctuary.

GREECE

Saint-Michel de Panormitis (island of Symi, Dodecanese) - Orthodox monastery, named after the archangel, patron saint of the island and of all Greek sailors, and a popular place of pilgrimage.

 Monastery of the Taxiarchs (Archangels) near Mantamados (island of Lesbos) - An active place of pilgrimage to the icon of Saint Michael, according to tradition it was made by a young novice with the earth and blood of his slaughtered brothers, the only survivor of the community massacred by the Saracens or the Turks (depending on the period). It is said to reproduce the figure of the Archangel who intervened to save him from death.

TURKEY- Saint-Michel de Chonai. Honaz, the current name of the Byzantine city of Chonai, located a few kilometres from Colossae (destroyed by an earthquake under Nero). Ancient Colossae was an important city in Phrygia and in the Middle Ages.ApocalypseIt is one of the seven great churches of Asia Minor. To the south of the town was Chonai, a famous place of pilgrimage with a miraculous spring and a magnificent basilica, both of which have now disappeared. According to legend, the healing spring appeared in the I^er The spring was destroyed in the 16th century, following the preaching of the apostles John and Philip, who had announced a miracle by the prince of the heavenly militia. Some pagans, jealous of the benefits of the spring, had set out to drown the sanctuary and the spring under the tumultuous waters of a torrent diverted by their work. Thanks to the intervention of the Archangel, the waters were stopped as if by a wall, the rock opened up and the flood rushed into the abyss, thus sparing the sanctuary, which was guarded by a hermit. The local cult of Saint Michael dates back to the very origins of Christianity, with Saint Paul warning the Colossians against deviations from the cult of angels, and in the 4th century the Church of St. Michael was founded.^e In the 16th century, the Council of Laodicea legislated against it, but it survived the centuries as one of the most famous sanctuaries in Asia Minor, and was responsible for spreading the cult of the archangel to the Byzantine world on Monte Gargano. The feast of Saint Michael of Chonai was fixed for 6 September. The site is now part of the Mount Honaz National Park.

EGYPT

In Egypt, as early as the IV^e In the 16th century, there were sanctuaries dedicated to the Archangel, both in the desert, as for example in the eremitical foundations of Saint Macarius the Great, and in Alexandria, Cairo and the entire Nile valley. For the Egyptians, Saint Michael seems to have been the preferred intercessor of the inhabitants as patron saint of the river, regulating its flow and ensuring prosperity for all. In Alexandria, at the beginning of the 4th century AD, the church of Saint Michael took the place of the church of Cairo.^e Its feast day was set for 8 November, according to some, the original date of the pagan temple dedication celebrations! Although many Christian sanctuaries have disappeared over the centuries, at the end of the 19th century there were still a number of them.^e More than 10% of them were built under the invocation of the Archangel. Some archaeological sites, such as the Baouît monastery (IV^e-V^e centuries) have revealed epigraphic and iconographic evidence of the importance and precociousness of the cult of Saint Michael in the region, noting the continuity of the cult right up to the present day (Saint Michael's Church in Cairo, etc).

 FINLAND

Mikkeli (Finland) - Or Saint Michael in Finnish, the town, capital of the region of Southern Savonia and the province of Eastern Finland, is named after the Archangel and boasts a 14th-century church that has been converted into a museum. The town council hopes to recreate the pilgrimage for the Archangel's feast day on 29 September.

France, former French sanctuaries built near the city gates:

Saint-Michel-du-Mont-Gargan Priory in Rouen (Seine-Maritime)- Situated on a hill at the entrance to Rouen, this dependency of the Abbey of Saint-Ouen de Rouen was a sanctuary replica of Mont-Saint-Michel and attracted worshippers from the Rouen area. Restored after the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of Religion, the priory church disappeared during the Revolution.

Vernon (Eure) Saint-Michel de Vernonnet priory, located above the town on the Côte Saint-Michel. Former chapel belonging to Saint-Wandrille, ceded to the abbey of Montebourg (Manche) in the middle of the 12th century.

Bernay (Eure) Saint-Michel du Mont-Milon priory - known as Mont Saint-Michel. There was a rivalry between the parish priest of Sainte-Croix and the abbot of Bernay over the sharing of oblations to the chapel in Bernay.

Or overlooking the countryside

Denestanville, (Seine-Maritime)  - The chapel of Saint-Michel, located at the top of a hill known as "Mont Saint-Michel", was home to a brotherhood of Saint-Michel, founded in 1526. The pilgrimage was documented at the end of the 18th century, but was probably much earlier.

European network of Saint Michael's sites and routes

European network

The legendary sources tell how "the Archangel chose three particular places in the western regions of the world to visit himself and his people, and to flood them with his light: the first on Mount Gargan, already very well known throughout the world; the second near the ocean, known as 'at the peril of the sea'; the third, placed exactly halfway, is Mount Pirchirianus".

Following in the footsteps of the monk Bernard, the oldest known pilgrim on the Pilgrim's Way to Saint Michael, who followed this route around 867-868, today it takes us on a tour of the great Michaels sites: Monte Sant'Angelo (Puglia), Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome and Sacra di San Michele (Piedmont).

Scientific collaboration

As part of a partnership with the universities of Caen Basse-Normandie and Paris X-Nanterre, the association has been working with the University of Bari and the University of Turin for many years, exchanging references and scientific works, producing exhibitions and participating in and co-organising conferences on the cult of and pilgrimages to Saint Michael.

It was during one of these colloquia in 2006 (the Cult and Sanctuaries of Saint Michael in Medieval Europe, Bari and Monte Sant'Angelo, 5-8 April 2006) that various partners decided to join forces to make the route linking Mont-Saint-Michel, the Sacra di san Michele (Piedmont) and Monte Sant'Angelo (Monte Gargano) a European cultural axis. Text of this wish. Since then, the association has been working to make this wish come true, with a variety of initiatives for walkers and cyclists wishing to link these great sanctuaries.